We are absolutely positively over 1) that wack sauce, anticlimactic Super Bowl (half-time show and all), 2) this Tri-State area snow, and 3) people who try to get over in the courtroom. This week we’re talking about the cute moment that could’ve gone left when a Florida burglary suspect tried to sweet talk his way out of charges. Luckily, Judge Tabitha Blackmon handled it with grace, but that isn’t always the case. Don’t try to finesse in the courtroom and end up in contempt, y’all! Also on the ...
Feb 10, 2021•52 min•Ep. 15
It’s Super Bowl week and we’re betting on Black, as in always bet on the Black quarterback...shout-out to Patrick Mahomes, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair and Doug Williams! But sadly the NFL continues to fumble on its handling of player misconduct and violent criminal assault of women. We get into the nitty gritty of the case of former Seattle Seahawks player Chad Wheeler who is charged with brutally beating his girlfriend and the NFL’s deficient respo...
Feb 03, 2021•51 min•Ep. 14
Eboni and Dustin are joined by Ben Cohen, founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to discuss The Campaign to End Qualified Immunity . Qualified immunity is a f’d up legal construct that prevents too many bad cops from being charged with shooting unarmed Black people! We get into the nitty gritty about dismantling White supremacy with Ben who says, to paraphrase, this ain't a chocolate problem, it's a vanilla problem! Also on the Docket this week: Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella lawsuit pushed (real g...
Jan 27, 2021•55 min•Ep. 13
Eboni and Dustin are joined by Bevy Smith , business executive, host of SiriusXM’s Bevelations and a former co-host of Bravo’s Fashion Queens and the entertainment news show PageSix TV . We get into the nitty gritty with Bevy about balancing the choices you make in pursuit of your dreams, good and bad contracts (careful what you sign!) and many other revelations from her new book Bevelations: Lessons from a Mutha, Auntie, Bestie . Click here to find a Black bookseller near you. On the Docket thi...
Jan 20, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 12
Court is back in session trying to make sense of all that went down in the first two weeks of 2021, which smells a bit like 2020 with the added stink of a hot mess insurrection incited by Trump for his people to storm the US Capitol. Our jam packed Docket also includes: Tracy Chapman awarded $450K in copyright suit against Nicki Minaj, Zoë Kravitz filing for divorce after only a year-and-a-half of marriage to Karl Glusman, suspects arrested in burglary of Dr. Dre's home, charges filed against th...
Jan 13, 2021•52 min•Ep. 11
New episodes of Holding Court return January 13th , but we need to sidebar for a minute about what happened this week.... It is the day after Black Americans helped the Democrats take back control of the Senate by winning both Senate seats in Georgia including the election of Rev. Raphael Warnock as the first Black Senator elected from that former slaveholder state. It is the day after the United States Congress, despite a violent insurrection by a mob of Trump loyalists, confirmed the electoral...
Jan 07, 2021•7 min
New episodes return January 13th , but in the meantime we've got a new mailbag question from a "Daddy" who wants to know if he needs a lawyer for his son. We also revisit a mailbag question about "Separated" vs. married from episode #9. Then we revisit the main segment of episode #5, an important discussion from last year when we flashed back to the first viral video of a brutal police encounter with a Black man when Rodney King was beaten in 1991, and the police who beat him were tried and acqu...
Jan 06, 2021•44 min
New episodes of Holding Court with Eboni K. Williams return Jan 13 but, in the meantime, we want to share a special episode "Lived to Tell the Story with Marian and Robbie Tolan" from our Black Effect Network sister podcast Straight Shot, No Chaser with Tezlyn Figaro . In this episode, Robbie and Marian Tolan join Tezlyn to discuss a night of mistaken identity in Bellaire, Texas that resulted in Robbie Tolan being shot by the police in his front yard in front of his parents, Marian and Robert To...
Dec 30, 2020•50 min
We recap some of the biggest legal and cultural moments of the year and what got us through, prompting the question: can you sue the year 2020 for “alienation of affection” given how it separated us from loved ones often with devastating consequences? On the Docket this week, Eboni and Dustin discuss the lawsuit against Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa Bryant, and developments in a lawsuit by the estate of Michael Jackson against HBO regarding the Leaving Neverland documentary. And Eboni shares a per...
Dec 23, 2020•47 min•Ep. 10
Tis the season to wonder why Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to Federal criminal firearm possession, what’s up with Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa’s butt lawsuit, and why a little league football coach thought it wasn’t straight up child abuse to violently slap a 9-year-old player during a game that, thankfully, was caught on camera? Speaking of cameras, we only wish there were more body cameras to reveal the truth behind why 23-year-old Casey Woodson, Jr. who wasn’t the subject of any investigation, was fatally ...
Dec 16, 2020•46 min•Ep. 9
The courage of prominent creators like Dave Chappelle and so many others are helping to pull back the veil on the historic and current inequities of intellectual property ownership. “Real ownership is the new Black”, says our special guest Jason Lee , entertainment journalist, producer, podcast, radio and TV personality, and CEO of Hollywood Unlocked . We get into the Nitty Gritty with Jason on what it means for Black creators and the rights and deals that they deserve for the content they creat...
Dec 09, 2020•59 min•Ep. 8
Actor Faizon Love sues the film studios for literally erasing him and his co-star Kali Hawk from the movie poster of “Couples Retreat” in the international marketing campaign. We hear firsthand from Faizon about his bold and needed step to correct a long history of Black actors being deemed not marketable in international distribution. And we get into the nitty gritty of this issue with Dr. Jason Johnson , Professor of Journalism and Communication at Morgan State University who breaks down the f...
Dec 02, 2020•54 min•Ep. 7
How did Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen who shot three protesters with an assault rifle and killed two of them, post $2 million bail? Because he was funded by some “silver spoons” who do not understand that a true patriot is someone who stands for liberty and justice for all. Young men joining militias is not patriotism, its terrorism and we hereby reclaim the patriot narrative! On the Docket this week: Lil Wayne’s gold-plated firearm possession charge, Dr. Dre divorce again (yep), the “professor” wh...
Nov 25, 2020•38 min•Ep. 6
Flashback to the first viral video of a brutal police encounter with a Black man when Rodney King was beaten in 1991, and the police officers who beat him were tried and acquitted in 1992, then LA and the world cried no more! And yet it happened again and again. Then in 2020, police brutally knelt on the neck of George Floyd until he took his last breath, and Minneapolis and the world cried no more...again. The outcry galvanized today by Black Lives Matter faces familiar narratives from leaders ...
Nov 18, 2020•55 min•Ep. 5
We’ve been waiting to exhale and finally, thankfully our nation has spoken and placed our trust in President-elect Joe Biden to lead us the hell out of 2020, and Madam Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to make history -- “ work that, work that, Girl don’t hold back ”! Legal headlines on The Docket this week include a fishing expedition by Nicole Young’s attorneys into possible paternity claims against Dr. Dre in their divorce case, plus Steve Harvey’s stepdaughter Lori Harvey pleads “no contest...
Nov 11, 2020•48 min•Ep. 4
Election day has passed, but we’re still just beginning the work to fix our democracy and build a more equitable America. Eboni and Dustin discuss the moment including the coveted Black male swing vote, and WTF was up with Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, 50 Cent and Kodak Black co-sign of Trump? Legal headlines on The Docket this week include Mel B and Eddie Murphy child support case, the latest on Dr. Dre and Nicole Young’s divorce case, and the shocking lawsuit by a Louisville police officer who killed B...
Nov 04, 2020•42 min•Ep. 3
Too much power for and against the People lies in the hands of nine people, the Justices of the US Supreme Court. What you need to know about the history of the Court from Thurgood Marshall to Clarence Thomas, and the notorious RBG to Amy Coney Barrett, and why it matters to Black Lives! Special guest, Bakari Sellers . Also on the Docket: Taraji P. Henson split with fiancé Kelvin Hayden, does she have to give the ring back ? And rapper Saweetie and Birkingate, is that bag real or fake? Brennan C...
Oct 28, 2020•45 min•Ep. 2
How the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution does and doesn't protect you in your home. Also on The Docket, insights and commentary on Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams divorce settlement, divorce filings by Cardi B, and news about the estate of the late, great Chadwick Boseman, may he rest in power! Official documents related to the murder of Breonna Taylor: Louisville, KY police accountability and search warrant reform can be found here. Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Public Int...
Oct 27, 2020•47 min•Ep. 1
I’m Eboni K. Williams , an attorney, TV news anchor, and former public defense attorney. I was raised by a single mother. We were poor, we struggled but we strived and she taught me, inspired me and instilled in me a sense of justice through perseverance, through knowledge! I worked and was accepted to college at 16, then I went to law school. Now I want to teach, to inspire. I believe we are a nation of laws, but the system is rigged and we must work to restore the promise of justice for all. T...
Oct 13, 2020•2 min
