Federal Court

A fugitive former Los Angeles police officer wanted in connection with a deadly shooting rampage may have had help in his efforts to flee to Mexico as a massive manhunt was gearing up to capture him, according to federal court records obtained Monday by The Times. The records state how authorities developed "probable cause" that Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, was possibly trying to escape to Mexico and provide new details on his actions since he allegedly killed three people, including a police officer, in a shooting rampage that police say began Feb. 3 in Irvine.

Johnson & Johnson failed to warn doctors of the risks of defective metal hip implants that it didn't test properly, a lawyer told a Los Angeles jury in the first of 10,000 lawsuits over the device to go to trial. Loren Kransky, a retired prison guard who got an ASR XL hip implant in 2007, sued in state court in 2011 and had the device replaced last year. J&J, the world's biggest seller of healthcare products, withdrew the devices in August 2010 after citing British data showing more than 12% failed within five years.

SACRAMENTO - Lance Armstrong's books were billed as the inspirational story of an athlete who bounced back from cancer to become the world's best cyclist - without using banned substances. Now everyone knows Armstrong's story was not the truth, and some customers want their money back. Two Sacramento County residents, Republican political consultant Rob Stutzman and professional chef Jonathan Wheeler, are spearheading a class-action lawsuit against Armstrong and his publishers, claiming they were deceived.

One of the nation's most prominent pornography producers is suing Los Angeles County in federal court to overturn a new law requiring actors to wear condoms during filming. The suit by Vivid Entertainment, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, says the 1st Amendment's protection of free expression was violated after 57% of L.A. County voters approved the condom-porn measure during the Nov. 6 election. "The exercise of 1st Amendment freedoms cannot be limited by referendum," the suit said.

WASHINGTON - While Congress and President Obama fight over taxes and spending, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the third branch of government was doing its part by holding down spending for the federal courts. Roberts said the U.S. Supreme Court would will ask for $75 million next year, a 3.7% decrease from the spending level of three years ago. Nationwide, the federal courts spent about $6.9 billion in the last fiscal year, a "minuscule portion of the federal budget," Roberts wrote in his year-end report on the judiciary.

WASHINGTON - A former neighbor of the Webster, N.Y., sniper who killed two volunteer firefighters on Christmas Eve illegally bought the guns used in the killing, federal authorities charged Friday. Dawn M. Nguyen, 24, of Greece, N.Y., was charged in federal court with acting as a straw purchaser for William Spengler, who as a felon could not legally buy guns for himself. Spengler was convicted of killing his grandmother in 1980. Nguyen also faces state felony charges on allegations of falsifying business records.

Biotech giant Amgen Inc. is expected to plead guilty Tuesday in a criminal case in New York federal court, according to prosecutors. The Thousand Oaks company is scheduled to enter a plea to unspecified charges, according to a notice from the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn. Federal prosecutors couldn't be reached for further comment. Amgen didn't respond to requests for comment late Monday. Last month, Amgen said in a securities filing that it expected to pay $806 million to settle federal civil and criminal investigations related to its sales and marketing practices that were pending in the states of New York and Washington.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down Illinois' ban on carrying concealed weapons, handing a significant victory to gun-rights advocates. In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled against the Illinois law, but gave the state 180 days to craft a new piece of legislation that would deal with the court's concerns. Illinois was the only state where carrying a concealed weapon was entirely illegal. State and Chicago officials announced they would study the ruling before deciding on their next step.

SACRAMENTO - Federal prosecutors recommended Monday that former campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee - who pleaded guilty earlier this year to mail fraud involving the theft of more than $7 million from her clients - be sentenced to about eight years in prison. Among those who said Durkee had raided their campaign funds were Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Democratic Reps. Laura Richardson of Long Beach, Loretta Sanchez of Garden Grove, Linda T. Sanchez of Lakewood and Susan A. Davis of San Diego, and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

A Montana man  accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Wyoming girl appeared in federal court in Bozeman on Monday and said he would not fight extradition.   Jesse Paul Speer, 39, was arrested  by the Federal Bureau of Investigation late Saturday night. He was held on $2-million bond pending  extradition to face   charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault and felony use of a firearm, Gallatin County Detention Center officials told the Los Angeles Times. He didn't enter a plea and waived his right to an extradition hearing,  the Associated Press reported.