Riveting court cases of 2011

The divorce of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife, Jamie, is believed to rank as the most expensive in California history. But more than that, the future of the bankrupt franchise itself was caught in the middle of these feuding exes, until Frank agreed to sell the team in November. He also reached a deal with Jamie that calls for her to be paid $131 million by April 30, 2012. Full coverage  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

While still on probation in an earlier drunk-driving case, the actress was found to have stolen a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store in January. A judge sentenced her to 120 days in jail and 480 hours of community service, but under a program for nonviolent offenders she was allowed to serve only 35 days of house arrest with an ankle monitor. She later violated the terms of her probation again and ended up being sentenced in November to 30 days behind bars, of which she only served 4 1/2 hours due to jail overcrowding. Above, Lohan inside L.A. County Superior Court in November.  (Mario Anzuoni / AFP/Getty Images)

After six weeks of testimony, a jury in July found Casey Anthony not guilty of murder in the death of Caylee, her 2-year-old daughter. In a Florida courtroom, prosecutors portrayed Anthony as a hard partier who wanted to get rid of her young child to live a carefree life, but her lawyers contended Caylee’s death was an accident that Anthony was just too nervous to report immediately. Her defense team pointed to the lack of DNA evidence in her car, where prosecutors said she hid the body. Above, Anthony reacts to the verdict.  (Red Huber / Associated Press)

Former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich was convicted of federal corruption charges for trying to trade President Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat in exchange for money or favors. This month, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined $20,000. “I was the governor, and I should have known better. And I am just so incredibly sorry,” Blagojevich told the courtroom.  (M. Spencer Green / Associated Press)