News & Media
Miami Heat Minority Owner Raanan Katz Sues An Anonymous Blogger
Miami New Times The Miami New Times reports on a case in which Randazza Legal Group is defending an anonymous blogger against a SLAPP suit. Alongside Kain & Associates, the firm is defending a blogger who wrote blog posts about lawsuits involving a public figure, Raanan Katz. In Sunny Isles Beach, Raanan Katz has a street and an official day
Our thoughts are with the victims of the recent natural disaster
As someone who survived the San Diego Tsunami, my heart goes out to those brave souls who endured today’s earthquake. Update: I am pleased that others find this an occasion for patriotism as well.
Gallagher v. Gallagher
In a derivative soft-rock battle of epic proportions, Liam Gallagher has sued his brother, Noel Gallagher – both of the band Oasis – for libel. (Source.) Liam’s basis for suing Noel relates to statements Noel made to the press in 2009, when Oasis was forced to cancel its appearance at the V Festival. Noel told journalists that the performance was
Do you know who Ruth Orkin is?
By Tatiana von Tauber Recognize this photo? Ruth Orkin photographed it in the early 50’s after meeting another young woman, Ninalee Craig (the model) in Italy while traveling solo. Together they attempted to capture the experience of traveling alone in Italy. Some have claimed this photo is a symbol of harassment. While Craig claims it’s a symbol of having a “wonderful time” (source),
Righthaven Defendant Wins Second Attorney's Fee Award
Vegas Inc., August 15, 2011 Discussing District of Nevada order directing Righthaven to pay defendant Wayne Hoehn’s attorney’s fees of $34,045 in Righthaven LLC v. Hoehn. Hoehn’s award was the second any defendant obtained against Righthaven, the first being $3,815 obtained by Michael Leon. Read more…
Has Chief Justice John Roberts been reading this blog?
By J. DeVoy “Pick up a copy of any law review that you see, and the first article is likely to be, you know, the influence of Immanuel Kant on evidentiary approaches in 18th Century Bulgaria, or something, which I’m sure was of great interest to the academic that wrote it, but isn’t of much help to the bar.” –Chief
Righthaven — with BABIES!
By J. DeVoy No cute pictures of infants here — just a bizarre story from San Diego Attorney Theresa Erickson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for her role in what federal prosecutors described as a “baby-selling ring.” (source.) Technologically, the scheme was pretty simple: Women would travel to the Ukraine to get pregnant with the eggs and sperm
Cooley, New York Law School hit with lawsuits from former students
By J. DeVoy Two lawsuits were filed today in New York and Michigan against New York Law School (not to be confused with New York University School of Law) and Thomas M. Cooley Law School, respectively. The plaintiffs, former students of the two schools – which have been in at least the bottom half of U.S. News & World Report’s
Are You Guilty If Pirates Use Your Internet? Lawyer Says YES
Torrent Freak, August 6, 2011 Marc Randazza discusses the legal bases for a negligence tort arising from pirates using a third party’s unsecured wireless internet network. As in other situations where a careless owner may be liable for third parties’ harmful acts, wireless internet connections may be a source of liability for owners if they are not secured. Read more…
A Message About Texas Governor's "Religious Revival"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6rsVcdLltPQ]
Negligence and Open Wifi in Torrent Cases Debate
In the wake of this recent legal development, Torrent Freak has published an open debate over the issue of negligence claims in copyright infringement cases involving open wifi networks. I provided the pro side of the debate here. Nick Ranallo provides the con side of the debate here.
Fair Use is Awesome
A number of weeks ago, the RLG scored a major fair use victory in Righthaven v. Hoehn. In that case, we argued that even using an entire editorial could be fair use as long as the fair user made a transformative use of the original. The Court agreed. The issue of whether an entire work can be taken as fair
Lake County, FL instituting inartfully drafted student dress code
By J. DeVoy In a wise response to budget cuts and other crises facing Florida’s public schools, Lake County’s School Board has set the stage to impose a dress code that bans “unnatural” hair colors, “extreme” hair cuts, and the use of makeup that is “disruptive or does not allow direct eye contact.” I don’t see how makeup precludes eye
Lets Hear it for Officer Matthew J. Lyons, Oceanside, CA Police Dep't
You know that whole “serve and protect” thing? That “uphold and defend the Constitution” thing? It seems that most police officers forget all about it. Not Matthew Lyons of the Oceanside PD. Professional. Courteous. Respectful. And right on all counts. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMMPV4D6cs0] H/T: Techdirt
Good Question….
The Carroll County Times asks: Carter raised the debt to a paltry $1 trillion in 1980. Reagan raised it to $3 trillion. George H. Bush raised it to $4 trillion. Clinton raised it to $5.5. trillion. George W. Bush doubled it to $10 trillion, and Obama has raised it to $14 trillion. Where was the outrage when Bush doubled the
It is a shame that we are not Norwegian
Despite the horrible tragedy in Norway, it seems that Norwegian politicians are not rushing out to pass new laws to restrict liberties in that country. In fact, instead of dick-waving and “oh goody, now we get to pass a Nordic Patriot Act,” this is what the Norwegian King had to say: “I remain convinced that the belief in freedom is
Scott Randolph, Flori-duh Rep., needs a First Amendment refresher
State Rep. Scott Randolph (D-Orlando) wants to pass a bill that makes it a felony for jurors to try and sell their story within 9 months of a trial. (source) Apparently, Mr. Randolph, in his rush to score cheap points in a bill tagged with the Casey Anthony wand, forgot about Simon & Schuster v. Crime Victims Board, 502 U.S.
Wall Street Journal's Hypocrisy on News Gathering
Trevor Timm at “Legal As She Is Spoke” provides a thoughtful essay comparing the Wall Street Journal’s stance on the phone hacking scandal and its stance on Wikileaks. (source)
As if you needed more evidence that Herman Cain doesn't belong in office
Naturally, his candidacy is no more serious than Sarah Palin’s nomination for a Rhodes Scholarship, but this guy is a constitutional train wreck. He claims that any community has a right to ban a mosque in their community. Fuck the First Amendment, Boo Boo! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqyIM1jAMU] No, Herman, No. No you can’t. While I personally would like to see mosques, synagogues,
Newark, NJ learns a little something about the First Amendment
The City of Newark, NJ, will be shelling out more than $50,000 for violating a journalist’s First Amendment rights: Roberto Lima, editor of Newark’s Brazilian Voice newspaper, was awarded $55,000 plus legal fees in response to a civil suit he filed for wrongful arrest in 2008. Lima claimed Samuel DeMaio asked Gerald Carlos, a photographer for the newspaper, if he
