Three weeks after being asked to modify a $2.78 billion deal that would dramatically change college sports, attorneys excised the word “booster” from the mammoth plan in hopes of satisfying a judge’s concerns about the landmark settlement designed to pay players some of the money they help produce.

As expected, the changes filed in court Thursday did not amount to an overhaul — replacing “booster” with the term “associated entity or individual,” was the headliner – but the hope is that it will clear the way for U.S District Judge Claudia Wilken to give the settlement agreement preliminary approval.

The new language and replacing of the hazily defined “booster,” which has played a big role in the NCAA’s rulebook for decades, is designed to better outline which sort of deals will come under scrutiny under the new rules.

Under terms of the settlement, the biggest schools would have a pool of about $21..5 million in the first year to distribute to athletes via a revenue-sharing plan, but the athletes would still be able to cut name, image and likeness deals with outside groups.

It was the oversight of those deals that was at the heart of Wilken’s concerns in the proposed settlement. Many leaders in college sports believe calling something a NIL deal obscures the fact that some contracts are basically boosters paying athletes to play, which is forbidden.

The settlement tries to deal with that problem. By changing “booster” to “associated entity,” then clearly defining what those entities are, the lawyers hope they will address that issue.

The NCAA said in a statement that the new language will “provide both clarity and transparency to those seeking to offer or accept NIL deals.”

The new filing explained that “associated entity or individual” is a “narrower, more targeted, and objectively defined category that does not automatically sweep in ‘today’s third-party donor’ or a former student-athlete who wishes to continue to support his/her alma mater.”

Those entities will not include third parties like shoe companies or people who provide less than $50,000 to a school — someone who would be considered a small-money donor. Deals involving “associated entities” will be subject to oversight by a neutral arbitrator, not the NCAA.

In a news release, plaintiffs’ attorney Steve Berman focused on how the settlement, and now the new language, restricts how much oversight the NCAA — already sharply muzzled by a series of losses in court — will have on NIL deals.

“The filed settlement terms today constitute a substantial improvement on the current status quo under which a much broader set of deals are prohibited under NCAA rules, and all discipline is carried out by the NCAA without any neutral arbitration or external checks,” Berman said.

There is no timetable for Wilken to let the parties know whether they changes they made will be enough for her to sign off on the deal.

The lawyers kept to their word that they would not make dramatic changes to the proposal, but rather clarify for the judge that most third-party NIL deals would still be available to college athletes. On top of that, athletes will also receive billions in revenue annually from their schools through the revenue-sharing plan.

College sports leaders believe unregulated third-party deals through booster-funded organizations known as NIL collective will allow schools to circumvent the cap.

So-called NIL collectives have become the No. 1 way college athletes can cash in on use of their fame. According to Opendorse, a company that provides NIL services to dozens of schools, 81% of the $1.17 billion spent last year on NIL deals with college athletes came from collectives.

Wilken took some issue with the cap — set at $21.5 million for the first year — but it was the plan to subject certain NIL deals to an external review for fair-market value drew the most scrutiny.

___

AP College Sports Writer Ralph Russo contributed.

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The post Attorneys tweak $2.78B college settlement, remove the word ‘booster’ from NIL language appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the country’s most progressive prosecutors, George Gascón, has advanced to a runoff in his reelection bid for Los Angeles County’s district attorney, surviving a primary race that pit him against 11 challengers.

Gascón will compete in November against the second highest vote-getter from Tuesday’s primary in the race to lead an agency that prosecutes cases in the most populous county in the U.S.

Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and one-time California attorney general candidate who ran as a Republican in 2022, was closely behind Gascón in partial returns.

Hochman has tried to capitalize on voter anger over crime and homelessness, issues that led voters to unseat San Francisco District attorney Chesa Boudin in a recall election in 2022. In his campaign ads, Hochman, a defense attorney, vowed to change the direction of the district attorney, saying: “It’s time we had a DA who fights for victims, not criminals.”

To win the primary outright in California, Gascón needed to get a 50%-plus-one vote. Anything less triggers a runoff race between the top two candidates in November regardless of party.

Political experts said they had expected Gascón to advance from the nonpartisan primary but are less optimistic about his chances in the fall.

The primary set Gascón against opponents who ranged from line prosecutors in his own office to former federal prosecutors to county judges. They sought to blame Gascón and his progressive policies for widespread perceptions the city is unsafe, highlighting shocking footage of a series of brazen smash-and-grab robberies at luxury stores. The feeling of being unsafe is so pervasive that even the Los Angeles mayor and police chief said in January that they were working to fix the city’s image.

But while property crime increased nearly 3% within the sheriff’s jurisdiction of Los Angeles County from 2022 to 2023, violent crime decreased almost 1.5% in the same period.

Gascón was elected on a criminal justice reform platform in 2020, in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police. He faced a recall attempt within his first 100 days and a second attempt later, which both failed to get on the ballot.

During his first term, Gascón immediately imposed his campaign agenda: not seeking the death penalty; not prosecuting juveniles as adults; ending cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies; and no longer filing enhancements triggering stiffer sentences for certain elements of crimes, repeat offenses or gang membership.

He was forced to roll back some of his biggest reforms early in his tenure, such as initially ordering the elimination of more than 100 enhancements and elevating a hate crime from misdemeanor to a felony. The move infuriated victims’ advocates, and Gascón backpedaled, restoring enhancements in cases involving children, older people and people targeted because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.

His challengers have pledged to reverse many or nearly all of his most progressive policies, such as his early orders to eliminate filing for sentencing enhancements.

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The post Progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón advances to runoff appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman has advanced to a runoff against Los Angeles County District attorney George Gascón, one of the country’s most progressive prosecutors.

Gascón and Hochman will compete in November in the race to lead an agency that prosecutes cases in the most populous county in the U.S.

Hochman was a one-time California attorney general candidate. Running as a Republican in 2022, he lost to Democratic candidate Rob Bonta. Hochman’s district attorney campaign says he raised $2 million in his bid to unseat Gascón.

To win the primary outright in California, a candidate needs to get a 50%-plus-one vote. Anything less triggers a runoff race between the top two candidates in November regardless of party.

Political experts said Gascón was expected to advance from the nonpartisan primary but are less optimistic about his chances in the fall.

Hochman emerged from 11 challengers running against Gascón, who was elected on a criminal justice reform platform in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police. Gascón faced a recall attempt within his first 100 days and a second attempt later, which both failed to get on the ballot.

Hochman has tried to capitalize on voter anger over crime and homelessness, issues that led voters to unseat San Francisco District attorney Chesa Boudin in a recall election in 2022.

In his campaign ads, Hochman, a defense attorney, vowed to change the direction of the district attorney, saying: “It’s time we had a DA who fights for victims, not criminals.”

The challengers, ranging from line prosecutors in Gascón’s office to county judges to former federal prosecutors like Hochman, sought to blame Gascón and his progressive policies for widespread perceptions that the city is unsafe. They highlighted shocking footage of a series of brazen smash-and-grab robberies at luxury stores. The feeling of being unsafe is so pervasive that even the Los Angeles mayor and police chief said in January that they were working to fix the city’s image.

But while property crime increased nearly 3% within the sheriff’s jurisdiction of Los Angeles County from 2022 to 2023, violent crime decreased almost 1.5% in the same period.

During his first term, Gascón immediately imposed his campaign agenda: not seeking the death penalty; not prosecuting juveniles as adults; ending cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies; and no longer filing enhancements triggering stiffer sentences for certain elements of crimes, repeat offenses or gang membership.

He was forced to roll back some of his biggest reforms early in his tenure, such as initially ordering the elimination of more than 100 enhancements and elevating a hate crime from misdemeanor to a felony. The move infuriated victims’ advocates, and Gascón backpedaled, restoring enhancements in cases involving children, older people and people targeted because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.

Hochman has vowed to reverse many or nearly all of his most progressive policies, such as his early orders to eliminate filing for sentencing enhancements.

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The post Nathan Hochman advances to Los Angeles County district attorney runoff against George Gascón appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California judge was arrested on suspicion of killing his wife in the couple’s home, authorities said Friday.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested late Thursday after police received reports of a shooting at the home and found the judge’s wife, Sheryl Ferguson, shot inside, said Anaheim police Sgt. Jon McClintock.

She was pronounced dead at the scene in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills. The 72-year-old judge was arrested and taken to jail.

He was held on $1 million bail in Santa Ana and released Friday after posting bond, according to online jail records. He has not been formally charged.

McClintock said one other person was at the home at the time but declined to say who the person was or whether they were among the callers who notified police of the shooting.

Telephone and email messages seeking comment were left for Ferguson’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer.

Ferguson was elected as a judge in 2014 and took office in 2015. He handles criminal cases in a courthouse in the Orange County city of Fullerton.

He started his legal career in the Orange County district attorney’s office in 1983 and went on to work narcotics cases, for which he won various awards, according to the court.

During his time as a prosecutor, he was honored as an “attorney of the year” by the North Orange County Bar Association. He served as the organization’s president from 2012 to 2014.

“This is a very tragic situation for all involved,” Lorrie A. Walton, a current member of the association’s board, said in an email.

In 2017, Ferguson was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate “with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement” and for being Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency’s findings.

Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child. He went on to attend college and law school in California. He and his wife were married in 1996.

He was previously married to another woman and they had a son. He and Sheryl Ferguson have another son together, said Juli Mitchell, the sister of his ex-wife.

On Friday, the Orange County Superior Court declined to provide additional information about the allegations.

“Although no case has been filed with our Court, when appropriate we will take all necessary steps to ensure full compliance with our legal and ethical obligations,” Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Maria Hernandez said in a statement.

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The post A Southern California judge has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife in the couple’s home appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California judge charged with killing his wife during an argument while he was drunk pleaded not guilty to murder Tuesday, and his lawyer says it was an “accidental shooting.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ricardo Ocampo ordered Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who appeared in court in a suit and tie, to surrender his passport, submit to searches, and wear monitoring devices for blood alcohol content and GPS as part of new bail conditions sought by prosecutors. Ferguson, who is free on $1 million bail, also is barred from possessing firearms and alcohol and frequenting places such as bars and liquor stores.

After the hearing, Ferguson’s lawyers told reporters the long-time judge and former prosecutor was confident a jury would agree with him that no crime was committed.

“This was an unintentional, accidental shooting and not a crime,” attorney Paul Meyer said.

The hearing was held in Los Angeles because Ferguson has been a judge hearing criminal cases in a courtroom about 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the southeast in Orange County. The next hearing in Ferguson’s case was set for Oct. 30.

The 72-year-old was arrested on Aug. 3 at his home in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills after police found his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, shot to death. Prosecutors said in court filings that the couple had been arguing and the judge was drinking when he pulled a pistol from an ankle holster and shot her in the chest. The couple’s adult son and Ferguson called 911, and Ferguson texted his court clerk and bailiff to say he had shot his wife, according to the filings.

He texted: “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry,” according to the filing.

Prosecutors argued the new bail conditions protect public safety and ensure Ferguson doesn’t flee after authorities found 47 weapons, including the pistol used in the shooting, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition at his home. They say the weapons are legally owned but a rifle registered in his name is still missing.

Ferguson was charged with one count of murder and weapons-related enhancements.

Larry Rosen, Sheryl Ferguson’s brother, spoke with reporters after Tuesday’s hearing and said it was “hell” when Ferguson looked at him in the courtroom.

“My sister was a wonderful person, very caring, very selfless,” Rosen said. “The family is absolutely in shock.”

Rosen declined to discuss Ferguson’s lawyers’ claims that the shooting was an accident and said he would defer to the police and prosecutors who are investigating.

Rosen said his sister helped take care of him since he was still a minor when their mother died. He also said she was an active member of her community, participating in Boy Scouts and activities with her now-adult son. The son, who authorities said called 911 after the shooting, is the main focus of the family now, Rosen said.

“It’s a tragedy for me. I can’t even fathom what he’s going through right now,” Rosen said.

The arrest shocked the Southern California legal community and officials have been grappling with how the case should be handled. The district attorney’s office in Orange County — a cluster of cities that are collectively home to more than 3 million people — asked state officials to weigh in on whether there was a conflict before charging him last week.

Ferguson has been a judge since 2015. He started his legal career in the Orange County district attorney’s office in 1983 and went on to work narcotics cases, for which he won various awards. He served as president of the North Orange County Bar Association from 2012 to 2014.

In 2017, Ferguson was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate “with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement,” and for being Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency’s findings.

Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child. He went on to attend college and law school in California. He and his wife were married in 1996.

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The post California judge pleads not guilty to murder in wife’s death appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California judge accused of killing his wife during an argument while drunk texted his court clerk and bailiff afterward to say he had shot her, prosecutors said Friday as they charged him with murder.

A court filing from prosecutors says Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson texted minutes after last week’s killing: “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry.”

Ferguson is free on $1 million bail. But prosecutors said they’re seeking new bail conditions to protect public safety and ensure he doesn’t flee after authorities found 47 weapons, including the pistol used in the shooting, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition at his Anaheim home. The weapons are legally owned but a rifle registered in his name is still missing, they said.

The shooting happened after Ferguson and his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, were arguing at a restaurant on Aug. 3, the Orange County district attorney’s office said in the court filing. The argument continued after the couple returned to their home in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills. The court document says the wife said something to the effect of “why don’t you point a real gun at me?” and he pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and shot her in the chest.

Their adult son called 911 and said his father had been drinking too much and shot his mom, the document says.

Jeffrey Ferguson also called 911 to vaguely report the shooting. When asked if he shot his wife, he said he didn’t want to talk about it at that time and she needed paramedics.

When officers arrived, Ferguson smelled of alcohol and told them, “Oh man I can’t believe I did this,” according to the document.

Ferguson, 72, was arrested at his home. He was released a day later and is set to be arraigned on Sept. 1.

On Friday, prosecutors charged Ferguson with murder with weapons-related enhancements. They want him to surrender his passport, wear an ankle monitor and possess no alcohol or firearms.

Ferguson’s attorneys, Paul Meyer and John Barnett, issued a brief statement and declined to answer questions. “This is a tragedy for the entire Ferguson family. It was an accident and nothing more,” they said.

Ferguson has been a judge since 2015. He handles criminal cases in the Orange County city of Fullerton. He started his legal career in the Orange County district attorney’s office in 1983 and went on to work narcotics cases, for which he won various awards. He served as president of the North Orange County Bar Association from 2012 to 2014.

In 2017, Ferguson was admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance for posting a statement on Facebook about a judicial candidate “with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth of the statement” and for being Facebook friends with attorneys appearing before him in court, according to a copy of the agency’s findings.

Ferguson said on his Facebook page that he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout Asia as a child. He went on to attend college and law school in California. He and his wife were married in 1996.

The arrest shocked the Southern California legal community and officials have been grappling with how the case should be handled. The Orange County district attorney’s office asked state officials to weigh in on whether there was a conflict of interest before filing charges. A judge in neighboring Los Angeles County will hear the case, officials said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the county jail, said Ferguson was released last week according to the pre-established rules for bail and the law. No additional conditions were sought for his release by Anaheim’s police agency, which arrested him, said Jeff Puckett, Orange County’s assistant sheriff for custody operations.

“We’re simply the people that housed him as part of our county mandate to house arrestees,” he said. “The sheriff’s department cannot impose conditions.”

At the time of Ferguson’s arrest, the facts and circumstances didn’t justify a bail enhancement, said Anaheim police Sgt. Jon McClintock. He said the judge “is afforded the same constitutional right to post bail as anyone else” and declined to comment on the filing by the district attorney’s office.

Orange County is made up of a cluster of cities — the most populous being Anaheim — that are between Los Angeles and San Diego and are collectively home to more than 3 million people.

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The post California judge who’s charged with murder texted court staff that he shot his wife, prosecutors say appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County voters are set to decide next month if embattled District attorney George Gascón will remain the head of the nation’s largest prosecutor’s office in a race centered on perceptions of public safety.

Gascón, who was elected in 2020 on a criminal justice platform alongside a wave of progressive prosecutors, faces 11 challengers in the March 5 nonpartisan primary. Voting is already underway.

Gascón’s challengers say his policies are to blame for rising crime, including a series of brazen smash-and-grab robberies at luxury stores that have garnered national attention from critics who say California’s Democratic leaders are allowing lawlessness. Property crime increased nearly 3% within the sheriff’s jurisdiction of Los Angeles County from 2022 to 2023.

Violent crime, however, decreased more than 3% in the city of Los Angeles and nearly 1.5% in the county in 2023 compared to the year before. It is still above pre-pandemic levels, and the feeling of being unsafe is so pervasive that even the Los Angeles mayor and police chief said last month they are working to fix the city’s image.

“There isn’t a community, I believe, in LA County that would say things are on the right track from a crime perspective,” said Michael Bustamante, an election expert and public affairs consultant who is not involved in the race.

Gascón was elected after a summer of unrest following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

He immediately imposed his campaign agenda: not seeking the death penalty; not prosecuting juveniles as adults; ending cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies; and no longer filing enhancements triggering stiffer sentences for certain elements of crimes, repeat offenses or gang membership.

Gascón quickly faced backlash, including a recall attempt within his first 100 days and a second attempt later, which both failed to get on the ballot.

His challengers include local prosecutors Jonathan Hatami and Eric Siddall and former federal prosecutors Jeff Chemerinsky and Nathan Hochman, a one-time attorney general candidate, who all have garnered notable endorsements.

To win outright, a candidate must receive a 50%-plus-one vote, an unlikely outcome in the largest-ever field to seek the office. Anything less triggers a runoff race between the top two candidates in November to lead an agency made up of almost 1,000 lawyers who prosecute cases in the most populous county in the U.S.

Experts believe Gascón will survive the primary but are less optimistic about his chances in November.

“Nobody has really broken out. And with a large number of each candidate getting a decent amount of support, it could become a random thing who gets into the runoff,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of The John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which focuses on social science research in Los Angeles.

The challenger field is largely campaigning on a reversal of nearly all of Gascón’s progressive policies. They’re running with a more tough-on-crime approach but are mindful of going too far for LA County’s Democratic electorate.

Chemerinsky, for example, vowed to undo almost all of Gascón’s practices but said he would keep the ban on the use of the death penalty.

Gascón’s first term has been rocky. His orders to prosecutors to stop seeking longer prison sentences and cease using sentencing enhancements, among other controversial policies, were met with immediate resistance.

The union representing rank-and-file prosecutors sued Gascón, arguing he cannot bar the use of sentencing enhancements for prior felony convictions under the state’s “three strikes” law. The California Supreme Court heard arguments last year and has not issued a ruling.

Gascón faced a slew of no-confidence votes by municipal governments across the county. Other county district attorneys took the unusual step of criticizing his policies as reckless and tried to take cases from his jurisdiction.

He also was forced to roll back some of his biggest reforms, such as initially ordering more than 100 enhancements dropped and elevating a hate crime from misdemeanor to a felony. The move infuriated victims’ advocates and Gascón backpedaled, restoring enhancements in cases involving children, elderly people and people targeted because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.

“I think that most of the damage to Gascón happened relatively early,” Sonenshein said.

The unions representing rank-and-file Los Angeles Police Department officers and Los Angeles County deputy sheriffs, respectively, have not publicly endorsed anyone in the primary. In 2020, both heavily opposed Gascón, a former police chief and two-term San Francisco district attorney.

The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, representing LA County prosecutors, has endorsed Siddall, its former vice president.

Hochman’s campaign said Thursday he has raised $2 million. Gascón, who got more than $12 million in contributions in 2020 — had nearly $112,000 cash-on-hand in his campaign account as of Feb. 17, according to campaign finance records. Experts said that’s a fraction of what’s needed to run a county-wide campaign.

Reports from Thursday’s filing deadline have not been made public yet.

The other candidates are David S. Milton, Debra Archuleta, Maria Ramirez, Dan Kapelovitz, Lloyd “Bobcat” Masson, John McKinney and Craig J. Mitchell.

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The post Los Angeles County district attorney seeks reelection in contest focused on feeling of public safety appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

A judge has ordered the Los Angeles Police Department to get rid of photographs of legal documents that officers allegedly took during an unannounced raid on the home of an attorney representing a prominent Black Lives Matter activist.

The attorney, Dermot Givens, said roughly a dozen Los Angeles police officers descended on his townhouse on Tuesday, ordering him to stand outside as they executed a warrant.

When he went back inside, Givens said he saw an officer photographing documents left on his kitchen table related to a lawsuit filed against the department on behalf of Melina Abdullah, the co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter.

Abdullah has alleged officers violated her civil rights in 2020 by forcing her out of her home at gunpoint after receiving a hoax call about a hostage situation there.

The papers photographed by police contained “portions of Mr. Given’s case file, and potentially attorney work product” related to Abdullah’s case, according to an application in Los Angeles County Superior Court requesting that police destroy or return the materials and provide a copy of the warrant used to justify the search.

On Friday, Judge Rupert Byrdsong granted that request. Givens said he had not received confirmation from the LAPD or any information about the warrant as of Saturday.

A police spokesperson said the department was conducting an internal investigation and declined to provide further details about the search. “This is an open criminal investigation as well as an internal affairs investigation,” the spokesperson, Capt. Kelly Muniz, said by phone.

According to Givens, police said they were responding to a GPS tracker located near his home as part of their search for a young man named Tyler. After surrounding the townhouse with guns drawn, officers in tactical gear “ransacked” his house, he said, emptying drawers, opening his safe, and rifling through his briefcase.

Givens said he had lived in the house for more than two decades and did not know anyone who matched the name and description of the person police claimed to be looking for. The raid was first reported Friday night by the Los Angeles Times.

The attorney alleged that it was latest instance of harassment from the LAPD for his work on behalf of clients who are suing the department. He said police “know exactly who I am and where I live” and they’re lying if the say otherwise.

Givens is currently representing Abdullah in her lawsuit against the LAPD for their response to a “swatting incident” at her home in 2020, which involved officers surrounding her house and ordering her and her children to come outside through a loudspeaker.

She has alleged that police used the prank call, which was carried out by teenagers, as pretext to “terrorize” her for her role in organizing protests following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020.

Los Angeles police have not commented on officers’ actions at Abdullah’s home, citing the pending litigation.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disgraced Los Angeles celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi has been found competent to stand trial on charges that he stole more than $15 million from his clients.

A federal judge filed a notice of the brief order Tuesday under seal. Lawyers for both sides were given five days to identify any information in it that they would like the judge to keep confidential.

Girardi, 84, is the estranged husband of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne.

Girardi pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles last year to wire fraud on charges that he embezzled from clients, including an Arizona widow whose husband was killed in a boat accident; a Los Angeles couple injured in a car wreck that paralyzed their son; and a man who was severely burned in the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to decades in federal prison.

The Associated Press sent messages to his public defenders seeking comment.

At issue in the competency hearing was whether Girardi understood the charges and proceedings against him and could help with his own defense. His lawyers argued that he was unable to take part in the trial because he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which they said has left him confused and with memory problems. He currently is staying in the memory care unit of a nursing home.

Prosecutors contended that Girardi was exaggerating his symptoms.

As one of the nation’s most prominent plaintiff’s attorneys, Girardi took on powerful corporations, movie studios and Pacific Gas and Electric in a case that led to a $333 million settlement, which was portrayed in the 2000 Julia Roberts film “Erin Brockovich.”

But his law empire collapsed, he was disbarred in California in 2022 over client thefts, and he faces mounting legal problems.

Girardi also faces federal wire fraud charges in Chicago, where he is accused of stealing about $3 million from family members of victims of a 2018 Lion Air crash that killed 189 people.

The Chicago court is expected to follow the competency decision in California.

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza is being dropped from a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged she was raped by San Diego State University football players in 2021.

The woman agreed Tuesday to dismiss Araiza from the lawsuit she filed last year, while Araiza agreed to dismiss his defamation countersuit against her, his attorneys said in a statement.

He’ll be removed from the suit in the next week, won’t pay any money to the woman and reserves the right to sue her attorney for harm caused, the statement said, terming the agreement “bittersweet.”

“Matt has been forced to defend himself for the last sixteen months against false accusations and a campaign to ruin his career in the NFL. He will never get this time in his life back,” attorneys Dick Semerdjian and Kristen Bush said.

“Thankfully, there was extensive evidence that was key to securing Matt’s voluntary dismissal from this lawsuit,” the statement added. “Matt was and has always been innocent. The case is over, and Matt has prevailed.”

Araiza said Wednesday that the ordeal has “changed me a lot” and that he wants another shot at the NFL.

“My name, my reputation — this will be tied to me forever, that won’t go away,” he said at a news conference. “It was tough to watch the pain that it caused my family, because I have been proven innocent but they for sure had absolutely nothing to do with this.”

Araiza said he continues to work out.

“When I was cut, I was an NFL starter, had just beat out an NFL veteran. I was on a four-year contract and that wont be handed back to me. No one in the NFL is going to go, ‘Here’s the job that you once had,’ so working to regain where I was at is my primary goal right now,” Araiza said. “I’m confident that I will be able to regain my NFL career — whenever that is. I believe it’s more of a when, not an if.”

The defamation lawsuit against the woman, described in court documents only as Jane Doe, was “legally baseless,” but her first legal bill topped $20,000 and she “simply cannot afford to defend herself,” her attorney, Dan Gilleon, said in a statement reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“Plus she has been beat down by Araiza’s PR campaign and is frankly over it,” he said in a text, the news outlet reported.

The lawsuit against four other former San Diego State University players will continue.

An email from The Associated Press seeking comment from Gilleon wasn’t immediately answered Tuesday night.

Araiza was nicknamed the “Punt God” and honored as a consensus All-American in 2021 for his booming kicks that helped SDSU to a school-best 12-2 season in his senior year. He was selected by the Bills in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft but released two days after the filing of the lawsuit.

The woman alleged that she was 17 and attending an off-campus party in October 2021 when Araiza, then 21, had sex with her in a side yard at an off-campus house before bringing her into a bedroom where a group of men took turns raping her. She reported the alleged assault to San Diego police the next day.

Araiza has said he stayed in the backyard and never entered the home during the party and that he left nearly a half-hour before the alleged raping occurred.

He and most of the other players the woman is suing have said their encounters with her were consensual.

After a monthlong police investigation, the San Diego County District attorney’s Office announced in December that it would not file criminal charges. Several media outlets obtained an audio recording of a meeting between prosecutors and the woman in which deputy District attorney Trisha Amador said she concluded, based on a witness statement, that Araiza “wasn’t even at the party anymore” when the alleged raping could have occurred and wasn’t visible in videos that were recovered.

Earlier this year, the New York Jets hosted Araiza for a workout at the team’s facility, six days after a San Diego State investigation found no wrongdoing by him in connection with the alleged rape.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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