News & Media
Germany limits piracy penalties
Germany has limited individual piracy penalties to about $1,300 a pop. (source). On one side, I think that’s a reasonable penalty for stealing a song or a movie. On the other hand, it isn’t if there are procedural hurdles to actually being able to enforce even that low amount. I don’t know German civil procedure, so no idea on that.
Kids these days…. (students destroy NSA recruiters)
This audio is 12 minutes long. I usually don’t have 12 spare minutes to listen to audio recordings unless someone is paying me to do so. I got sucked into this, and it was some of the most uplifting 12 minutes I’ve had in recent years. University of Wisconsin students showed up to an NSA recruiting session and verbally kicked the living shit out of the NSA recruiters. Audio here.
Third Amendment Case in Nevada! (updated)
A federal lawsuit filed against the Henderson, NV police department raises Third Amendment issues! How exciting! In the case, Anthony Mitchell and his family sued the City of Henderson and its Police Chief Jutta Chambers, Officers Garret Poiner, Ronald Feola, Ramona Walls, Angela Walker, and Christopher Worley, and City of North Las Vegas and its Police Chief Joseph Chronister, in Federal Court. The allegations stem from a domestic violence investigation, in which Mitchell alleges the Henderson police wanted him to let them use his house to gain a “tactical advantage” over the subject of their investigation. At 10:45 a.m., Defendant OFFICER CHRISTOPHER WORLEY (HPD) contacted Plaintiff ANTHONY MITCHELL via his telephone. WORLEY told Plaintiff that police needed to occupy his
Las Vegas CityLife on the New Nevada Anti SLAPP Statute
Getting the word out.
Remember the good ol days?
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0wL9Li0f1Po]
This should not be news…
But it is… its news that a member of congress swore in without using a religious text… she used the Constitution. (source) What a novel idea.
Tits in the Mosque
To protest in favor of women’s rights and against Sharia, three women went into a mosque, in Stockholm, and shed their clothing. (source) In the immortal words of André Vippolis, that’s not really cool, man. I have no quarrel with their point, but as stupid as the Abrahamic religions are, those who gathered peacefully to practice their silly superstitions have a right to do that.
Virginia Gov. Candidate Wants Oral and Anal Sex Ban Revived
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, (and the GOP nominee for governor) has his panties in a wad because the Fourth Circuit held that Virginia’s laws prohibiting oral and anal sex were unconstitutional in light of Lawrence v. Texas. He’s asking the Supreme Court to overturn the decision, at least when it comes to minors. (source)
Fourth Circuit Delivers First Amendment Ass-Kicking
This is not a Star Trek order. There are no pithy jokes here. There is, however, a shocking exposé of just how insidious the government can be in coercing silence when you speak out against outdated, incorrect, and even dangerous “conventional wisdom.” Cooksey v. Futrell, et al., Case No. 12-2084, 2013 WL 3215240 at *1 (4th Cir. June 27, 2013). Steve Cooksey ran a blog advocating a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. This diet and its permutations are generally known as known as a “paleo,” “primal” or “caveman” diet, and is based on eliminating historically recent additions to the human diet, such as processed grains. This more or less inverts the USDA’s food pyramid (or triangle, depending on what generation you are),
Nevada's New Anti-SLAPP Law
You may have noticed that the writing has been a bit slow as of late. Well, one of the things that has been taking our attention away has been an all-hands effort up in Carson City, working on getting a realanti-SLAPP law passed here in the Silver State. We are proud to announce that the mission has been accomplished. Nevada officially has a new anti-SLAPP law it can be proud of. For the last two years, the Legal Satyricon has been complaining about the inadequacy of Nevada’s existing anti-SLAPP law. Notably, one judge suggested the possibility that the statute could be construed to only be used in lawsuits involving communications directly to a government agency, and the U.S. Court of
Adult Services Site Slixa Files Infringement Lawsuit Against CityVibe
Fort Mill Times reports that Slixa.com has filed a trade dress lawsuit against CityVibe. In the suit, Slixa.com claims that CityVibe.com’s VIP pages look substantially similar to Slixa’s. Randazza Legal Group represents Slixa.com in the suit. Read More…
First Amendment vs. Disabilities Act
(From Charles Platt) Is this a real threat, or just posturing? The ADA has already been extended far beyond the areas in which is was first designed to apply. I can certainly imagine regulations compelling web sites to be “equally accessible” to the disabled. Discussion here.
Jonas Williams: If you are a process server, you damn well better not lie on your service affidavit
This is, in the grand scheme of things, not a very important case. However, to a lot of people, it might be. There was a process server operating in San Diego by the name of Jonas Williams. Instead of actually serving the people he was asked to, he just signed the affidavits of service as if he did. I was not his first victim, but by golly I’m pretty sure that I’m his last. My wife and I filed an abuse of process claim against the guy, and prevailed. It was a default, but he’s known about the case and just chose not to defend it. And, we had cell phone records showing that I was 20 miles from where
Judge Not Impressed By Rakofsky v. The Internet; Dismisses Defamation Claims
TechDirt reports on the dismissal of Rakofsky v. Washington Post, dubbed online as Rakofsky v. The Internet by legal bloggers. Randazza Legal Group represented more than thirty of the defendants in the case. Read More…
Rakofsky v. The Internet – LINK FIXED
The long saga of Rakofsky v. The Internet is over (at least for now). The Order is here. Stay tuned, I’d imagine that there will be an appeal. The order is a bit soft, but the findings of fact are devastating.
Rakofsky v. The Internet ORDER
The long saga of Rakofsky v. The Internet is over (at least for now). The Order is here. Stay tuned, I’d imagine that there will be an appeal. ORDER UPDATED
9th Circuit Agrees Righthaven Lacks Standing to sue on Copyrights
Legal blog ContiFazz analyzes the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Righthaven v. Hoehn upholding the lower court’s determination that Righthaven did not have standing to bring suit. Randazza Legal Group represented Hoehn in the district and Ninth Circuit courts. Read More…
Righthaven’s Collective Copyright Enforcement Project Loses in the Ninth Circuit
The Volokh Conspiracy reports on the Ninth Circuit’s ruling on Righthaven v. Hoehn, resulting in a victory for Hoehn, represented by Randazza Legal Group. Read More…
Copyright troll Righthaven finally, completely dead
ArsTechnica reports on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision on Righthaven v. Hoehn, affirming the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada’s decision that Righthaven had no standing to bring suit. Randazza, who argued the case on appeal on behalf of Hoehn, said: However, given Righthaven’s unwillingness to make rational choices, I expect a petition for the United States Supreme Court to hear the case. Stay tuned. Read more…
