News & Media
Randazza: THE (Nevada) SUPREME COURT HAS ROUNDLY REJECTED PRIOR RESTRAINT!
By Marc J. Randazza A Nevada court previously ordered the censorship of autopsy reports stemming from the Las Vegas massacre. (source) Today, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed that decision as an unlawful prior restraint. (Opinion Here.) The lower court’s order would have forced members of the press to allow government officials to freely rummage through its files to find and destroy an autopsy report connected to the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Nevada Press Association, represented by Randazza Legal Group, PLLC, filed an amicus brief in this
Randazza: Section 2(a) Falls! First Amendment Wins!
First Amendment Prevails as Final Portion of Trademark Act’s Censorship Regime Falls by Marc J. Randazza The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit just struck down the final pillar in the U.S. Trademark Act’s censorship regime. 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a) (known best as “Section 2(a)”) is a portion of the Lanham Act, the federal trademark statute, that prevents registration of certain kinds of marks. It used to bar registration of marks that “may disparage,” as well as marks that were “immoral or scandalous.” Earlier this year, the Supreme Court in Matal v. Tam, 137 S. Ct. 1744 (2017)
Randazza: The Neo-Nazi and The First Amendment
By Marc Randazza Andrew Anglin, a neo-Nazi whom many online publications refer to as a vicious online troll, is being sued by a Jewish citizen of Whitefish, Montana. Tanya Gersh accuses him of invading her family’s privacy, urging his supporters to attack her family with hateful and death-threatening messages, and unleashing an online anti-Semitic trolling campaign against her, her relatives, her 12-year-old son, and other Jewish citizens of the local community. I represent Anglin in this suit. I realize that Anglin’s story is full of controversy, hate, and nationalistic views, which he reportedly spread among his followers. However, the court may
Randazza: Even Trump has a right to free speech
By Marc Randazza When then-presidential candidate Trump uttered the words, “Get’em out of here,” at one of his rallies, Trump’s supporters assaulted three anti-Trump protestors. The protestors now want to hold Trump liable for the assault, based on his speech alone. While I do not approve of Trump’s words, I am honor-bound to defend his right to free speech, as I have oft repeated the famous Voltaire misquote: “I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It.” I am disturbed that many people, including fellow free speech advocates, are willing to
Marc Randazza interviewed on Vice TV
Marc Randazza speaks to Vice about defending Andrew Anglin in the lawsuit filed by Tanya Gersh who alleged Anglin incited a troll storm against her. Randazza explains that Anglin’s speech is political, a category protected by the First Amendment, and justifies his representation of the Daily Stormer founder. “Whether or not I agree with somebody’s content is irrelevant to whether I represent them.” Check out the full interview below. Check out more of Randazza Legal Group in the news.
Randazza: Public Masturbation as Protected Speech?
By Marc J Randazza The Oregonian reports, delightfully, Man arrested after ‘masturbating vigorously’ in public because he ‘hates Portland’. So would his rationale change this from just a run-of the mill date with Palmela Handerson into protected activity? It just might. After all, nudity can be so ennobled, so why not evicting the testicular squatters? A few years ago, a guy decided to take his vintage 10-speed bicycle for a spin through the streets of Portland while wearing nothing but a bicycle helmet. Portland Police were not amused. They arrested Hammond for indecent exposure under Portland, Or., City Code §
What the Bleep Do We Know? How the Use of Volunteer Moderators, LiveJournal, and the Saga of Bleeping Computer Continues to Shape the Internet
Social networking sites and online message boards are an integral part of the Internet. Those websites are able to provide unfettered forums for the exchange of ideas because they enjoy certain legal immunities. But, those immunities are eroding. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides immunity from copyright infringement, and 47 USC § 230, commonly known as Section 230, applies to all other content. These laws essentially say that a service provider is not a “publisher” of third-party content on their websites, and thus not liable for what their users do. But, some recent cases have chipped away at this
The “Pop-Up Keyboard” Defense: How Apps, Mobile Phones, and Terms of Use Work Together
Unlike the Blackberry keyboards of yesteryears, your smartphone probably has a pop-up touch-screen keyboard. Recently, the Northern District of California took issue with this modern design, and denied Uber’s motion to compel arbitration because a pop-up keyboard blocked Uber’s Terms and Conditions from view while a user registered for the app. This case is unique because it focused on the functionality of how online terms of use appear on a touch screen mobile phone. Metter sued Uber over a $5 cancellation fee in a putative class action and Uber filed a motion to compel arbitration, pursuant to its terms of
Jail For Laughing Protester Is An Outrage
Marc Randazza’s most recent CNN column analyzes the recent conviction of Code Pink Protestor Desiree Fairooz after the media suggested she had been arrested merely for, “laughing at Jeff Sessions” during a Congressional hearing. There is, of course, more to the story. See – Jail for laughing protester is an outrage When Fairooz laughed loudly during Session’s confirmation hearing, Officer Coronado removed her, which caused Fairooz to protest loud enough to disrupt the session. Fairooz was charged with, “disorderly and disruptive conduct and parading or demonstrating on Capitol grounds.” However, it didn’t end there: Marc Randazza notes that a jury
Randazza: 400,000 Reasons to be a Good Little Pet
By Marc Randazza Barry (Obama, that is) is cashing in now. He’s going to rake in $400,000 to give a speech to Cantor Fitzgerald, a Wall Street investment bank. Some on the Left are flipping out that it cuts against everything Obama was supposed to stand for. The Right is screaming about it as well. But, in all fairness, much of the Right would flip out if Obama did anything less than hurl himself into a bottomless pit full of feces, sharp sticks, and armor-plated baboons hopped up on Viagra and trained to rape humans before ripping their faces off.
Randazza: No Laughing Matter
By Marc Randazza The news is abuzz with the unfortunate, disturbing, and misleading reports that a member of the group Code Pink was convicted of a crime for merely laughing at Jeff Sessions. That isn’t exactly what happened, but I think what happened is even worse. I discuss it here, in my latest CNN column, and hopefully also infect the readers with the notion that maybe we need to spread the word about jury nullification. See Jail for Laughing Protester is an Outrage.
Randazza: What is at Stake in the French Election
by Marc Randazza Well, something that is at stake. Whoever gets elected as French president will also become a co-prince, or co-princess, of Andorra. Yes, the French revolution did away with the French monarchy. Nevertheless, the President of the Republic of France is also the co-sovereign of the tiny Pyrenees micro-nation. Andorra itself has been open for business since 803, ever since Charlemagne wanted to thank its residents for rolling with him against the Moops. The Moops were Muslims who occupied Spain, if you didn’t know that. It got handed around like a 14 year old in adult prison, until
Marc Randazza’s most recent CNN column analyzes U.C. Berkley’s decision to silence Ann Coulter
See Dear Berekely: Even Ann Coulter deserves free speech There has been a wave of violent outbursts against conservative speakers during the 2016 election season, including violent protestors at Berkeley driving Milo Yiannopolous off campus a few months ago. Berekley’s reaction? When the Berkeley College Republicans invited Coulter to speak, Berkeley canceled it, citing the recent violent outbursts as the reason. Marc Randazza explains that Ann Coulter suggested disciplining the students that engaged in violence, but Berkeley decided instead to reschedule the speech on a day when no students were on campus. This is censorship. Marc Randazza says that some
Randazza: I was on Infowars (and I liked it)
By Marc Randazza I’ve never been the biggest fan of Infowars. I’m glad it’s there, but it wasn’t my thing. When I got asked to be a guest on it, I expected hostility. I have to say, the interviewer, David Knight, was better than any I’ve had on CNN, Fox, or any other mainstream media. Rather than recap it, I’ll just let you watch yourself.
Randazza: The March for Science … but was it?
By Marc Randazza The “March for Science” seemed like a great idea. Science is awesome. Making decisions based on evidence and the scientific method is superior to making decisions based on superstition and emotion. So yay science. I’m certain (or at least willing to believe) that the organizers were truly motivated by a desire for evidence-based policymaking to conquer superstition and emotion. But, as I review the smug “look at how enlightened we are for marching” pictures and posts on social media, I realize that the leaders and the crowd might not have the same motivations. Science tells us that
Trademark counterfeiting and the new Las Vegas Raiders
Marc Randazza, the managing partner of Randazza Legal Group, comments on Trademark counterfeiting and the new Las Vegas Raiders. “[If] you sell merchandise with ‘Raiders’ on it, you better have the permission of the NFL,” Mr. Randazza told Las Vegas 13 Action News, “[j]ust because there may not yet be a Las Vegas Raiders, doesn’t mean that’s just open territory for someone to start using that to sell merchandise.” Read the rest of the story here: http://www.ktnv.com/sports/how-to-spot-counterfeit-raiders-merchandise-in-las-vegas
Las Vegas New Porn Frontier
Right now, Las Vegas looks like the new frontier for porn. Marc Randazza, an entertainment lawyer who has studied the porn industry’s migration to Nevada, sees Kink.com’s move “in the larger context of adult entertainment companies looking just a few hours east, seeing much lower costs to doing business, and a much more business friendly environment, and more social tolerance than in California. They realize that it is a no brainer to tell California to go fuck itself.” https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kinkcom-is-shuttering-its-san-francisco-sex-dungeon?utm_source=huffpostUS
SPRING VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RULES!
Randazza Legal Group is proud to sponsor Spring Valley High School Football. When they approached us to sponsor them, of course we said “yes.” When they told us that we got to put whatever we wanted on the back of the shirt, we saw it as a great opportunity to try and spread the gospel of the First Amendment. Of course, we wanted some quote that might inspire a young future First Amendment lawyer, but, we didn’t want it to be too legalistic. Normally, this kind of sponsorship benefits personal injury firms and other firms that do consumer-level law. “We
Randazza Resoundingly Wins First Amendment Case
In Marc Randazza’s latest First Amendment victory, he once again fended off censorship in favor of wide open debate. In this appellate victory, the 11th Circuit Court of appeals upheld an earlier anti-SLAPP win, and a lower court decision that held that a plaintiff could not use a bogus “false advertising” claim in order to stifle free speech. This case centers around a dispute between two doctors, Dr. Steven Novella and Dr. Edward Tobinick. Marc Randazza represented Novella, a Professor of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine and the editor of Science Based Medicine, a website that promotes scientific debate
Randazza: Support Trump’s Pledge to Let Churches Engage in Politics
By Marc Randazza President Trump promised to get rid of a law that restricts churches from engaging in political speech. Trump said he would “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment. That law is believed to say that if a church endorses or campaigns for political candidates, it loses its tax exempt status. The result has been a wave of shock. Why, I can’t explain, since it was one of his campaign promises. There seems to be a perception that the Johnson Amendment only applies to religious organizations. Trump’s words themselves seem to contribute to this misinformation. “I will get rid of