Cardi B has scored another courtroom victory after a Los Angeles judge fined a lawyer $1,500 for asking the rapper about alleged gang ties during her 2025 trial.
The ruling comes after jurors sided with Cardi in a civil case over a security guard's assault claims, marking another legal win for the Grammy-winning artist.
Los Angeles County Judge Ian C. Fusselman issued a six-page order Wednesday, finding that plaintiff lawyer Ron A. Rosen Janfaza violated a clear court order by asking Cardi B, born Belcalis Almánzar, if she had any current gang affiliation while testifying on August 26, 2025.
A month before the trial began, the judge had specifically barred questions about prior "bad acts," including exotic dancing or any alleged gang ties during her youth, ruling such topics irrelevant to the assault case.
"She could not be asked about these topics because they would be unduly prejudicial and likely to confuse the jury," Judge Fusselman wrote in his pre-trial ruling, Yahoo reported.
Yet, one of Janfaza's first questions to Cardi was: "Do you have any affiliation at this time with a gang?"
Lawyers for Almánzar immediately objected, prompting the judge to caution the lawyer about violating the court's instructions.
After Cardi won the case in September, her legal team requested that Janfaza be held in contempt for the gang question and for referencing evidence not admitted during trial.
Janfaza argued he was sleep-deprived and that his office manager had drafted the question, claiming the phrasing "at this time" avoided the court's restriction. The judge dismissed these defenses.
💸 @RollingStone reports that a judge fined the plaintiff’s lawyer $1,500 for violating a court order by asking Cardi B about alleged gang affiliation during testimony last year in her 2018 assault case.
— The Cardi Room | FAN ACCOUNT (@theecardiroom) January 29, 2026
The judge ruled it was not an accident, but a deliberate violation. ⚖️ pic.twitter.com/9CoEzst9YK
Read more: Cardi B Erupts Over Fake Rape Claims Against Her Dad, Throws Shade at Nicki Minaj's Husband
Cardi B Lawyer Fined for Gang Question
"The court is not persuaded by any of these arguments," Fusselman wrote. "It is clear that Mr. Janfaza was aware of the [prior] ruling... It was a knowing and intentional violation of the court's ruling."
According to RollingStone, the judge ordered Janfaza to self-report the sanction to the California State Bar within 30 days and to pay the $1,500 by February 27, or face collections.
The original case stemmed from a 2018 confrontation outside a Beverly Hills doctor's office, where Ellis claimed Cardi scratched her cheek.
Cardi testified she never touched Ellis, describing the incident as a verbal altercation, and two defense witnesses corroborated her version.
Dr. David Finke and receptionist Tierra Malcolm reported that Ellis appeared aggressive and had a phone in hand, supporting Cardi's account.
Cardi, who was secretly pregnant at the time with Offset, has a history of courtroom victories.
She previously won a $4 million jury verdict against gossip vlogger Tasha K., saw a New York libel case dismissed, and prevailed in a federal trial over use of a tattoo image for her mixtape cover.
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