A great deal of this week's trending online legal news was focused on the release of cables between the U.S. State Department and some of its diplomats by the WikiLeaks […]

A great deal of this week's trending online legal news was focused on the release of cables between the U.S. State Department and some of its diplomats by the WikiLeaks website and its enigmatic founder, Julian Assange. Assange is facing legal action in a number of arenas, as are some celebrities who found their way into the top legal stories for the week ending December 3.

On Monday, the New York Times published a number of stories based on the approximately 250,000 cables that had been made available to it by the WikiLeaks website, which created a tremendous amount of online buzz. These cables detailed some sensitive and embarrassing information regarding American diplomatic efforts around the world, and they have held online searchers' interest throughout the week. More than 30,000 news headlines on the WikiLeaks are circulating the web, and Google Realtime results show that "WikiLeaks" generates new social conversations each minute.

According to CNN, the U.S. is conducting a criminal investigation into whether or not Julian Assange, an Australian native, should be charged in connection with the release of the documents. Jeffrey Toobin, the news source's senior legal analyst, said that prosecutors may have already obtained a sealed warrant for Assange's arrest.

Assange may also be facing charges of a distinctly different nature, as he is wanted for sex crimes in Sweden, according to Interpol. The international police organization has been calling for Assange's arrest for weeks.

The Wikileak's founder isn't the only famous person who was potentially facing charges this week, as reality television star Alexis Neiers generated a large quantity of online searches after her arrest for possession of black-tar heroin. Neiers, who appears on E!'s Pretty Wild, had served a 180-day jail sentence earlier this year for burglarizing the home of actor Orlando Bloom, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Elsewhere in the world of reality television, the Kardashian's created an outcry (and a great deal of internet activity) over their pre-paid debit cards because of allegedly excessive fees. The scandal around the Kardashian Kard captivated web searchers this week, with Google showing more than 1 million web results for the now infamous debit card. Connecticut Attorney General and U.S. Senator-elect Richard Blumenthal had warned consumers about the perils of the card and said he was happy that the reality television family had cut its connections to it.

"I am cautiously pleased that the Kardashians are terminating ties to the Kardashian Kard – a prepaid debit card loaded with predatory fees," he said in a press release.

In other legal news, the legislature of Illinois passed a law allowing for civil unions in what can likely be viewed as a success for the gay rights movement. Online searches for "Illinois civil unions" peaked on December 1. The bill still needs to be signed into law by Democratic Governor Pat Quinn, who supports the legislation, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Next week will also likely see the web buzzing with some legal rumblings at the state level that could have a national impact. The Houston Chronicle reports that a Texas judge who had previously ruled that the procedures surrounding the state's death penalty were unconstitutional will hear arguments from lawyers hoping he will stand by his previous decision on Monday, December 6.

Doug is Brafton's legal editor. He studied journalism in college and has worked for a number of media establishments.