court

After Oprah tore James Frey apart on her show last week, I was left to wonder what would be next for the author.

I should've known.

A Manhattan social worker was the first to file a lawsuit against Random House, the publisher of Frey's fictitious memoir about overcoming drug and alcohol addiction. The plaintiff, Jennifer Cohn, said she recommended Frey's book to a number of clients who were struggling with the same addiction. Another New York reader filed a class action lawsuit, asking for her $14.95 back. There are also lawsuits in state and federal courts in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

So...what's worse? Ripping apart the author on nationwide television or suing an author because his memoir is packed with lies?

Former Saturday Night Live star Tracy Morgan is going to court over a DUI. He was picked up by cops in Los Angeles on December 2nd and charged with drunken driving. He pleaded 'not guilty' to the misdemeanor charge earlier this month. Tracy's in court again on February 23rd for a pre-trial hearing.

Morgan, 37, was on SNL from 1996-2003. He's currently working on a sitcom pilot with former SNL co-star Tina Fey.

A judge ordered the rock singer/whatever else she is to a 28 day treatment center. The kind Sandra Bullock went to in that movie.

In other news, Tyra Banks is hot and John Goodman loves to eat. 

Ed Treleven writes in the Wisconsin State Journal about a new trend among jurors who seem to have trouble differentiating between television and real life. It seems that the popularity of shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; CSI: Miami; CSI: NY; and CSI: Plus Calcium have resulted in more juries demanding forensic evidence, something that has prosecutors mildly concerned. The general consensus so far, however, is that CSI and its various offshoots have yet to cripple the American court system.

The only "danger" I see in CSI is that it seems to do for forensics what Indiana Jones did for archeology, which is to make a redundant and arduous job look thrilling and exciting. That's just blatant false advertising, especially when everyone knows the most exciting, action-packed job ever is "beaver orthodontist." Why haven't they made a show about that?