News & Media
TER founder receives default judgment of $20,000
By J. DeVoy The intersection of adult entertainment and the measure of statutory damages under the Copyright Act – one of colleague Ron Coleman‘s favorite subjects – all in one article from XBIZ? How conveeenient. Ron is counsel of record with Marc and I in Righthaven LLC v. Hyatt, where, on behalf of amicus Media Bloggers Association, we made some
The "attack elites with white solutions" meme
By J. DeVoy Today, Rupert Murdoch was viciously pied, in the face, in Britain. In 2004, George Soros was attacked with glue. Am I the only person who sees this trend? Do white materials just show up better on camera? Non-elites have shoes thrown at them. Though, say what unkind things about GWB you will (and many will be correct),
NYT on Law School Economics
By J. DeVoy Just weeks before the bar exam, the New York Times craps all over the nonsensical economics of legal education. Based on the Times’ research, US News rankings play a surprisingly large role – and one much larger than the relevance such rankings actually have in practice. (“Oh, you went to Vanderbilt instead of Boalt? I’m not even
Why filming porn in Las Vegas should make sense (or: unsolicited response to Bobbi Starr)
In Nevada, prostitution – defined in NRS 201.295 – operates in a manner very similar to the California statute at issue in Freeman. Overburdened though Nevada’s courts are, the state lacks an intermediate appeals court and could settle the question of porn production’s legality fairly quickly, with a fairly libertarian Nevada Supreme Court to render the final decision. Then again,
Data Encryption and the Fifth Amendment
By J. DeVoy If you have encrypted data that is seized during an investigation, and law enforcement officers are incapable of decrypting it, can you refuse to provide the codes to remove encryption? The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) believes so, and recently submitted an amicus brief to that effect in U.S. v. Fricosu, Case No. 2:10-cr-00509-01-REB (D. Colo.) (hey, cool,
Barack Obama lies about his dead mother
By J. DeVoy Ann Althouse has the story. In short, the moving tale Obama regularly recounts about his mother’s tragic battle with insurance companies – which was relied on heavily by the White House in pushing health care reform – is false. The story begins in May, but is just breaking now because the New York Times has had such
Goddamned Illegal 'mmgrnts
Last week, in Phoenix (home to Sheriff Joe Arapaio), my taxi driver seemed to think that he would gain points with me by bitching about “all the damn illegal Mexicans we have to pay for here.” “We gotta pay to educate ’em,” he said. “Pay to hospitalize ’em, and pay to put ’em in our jails. I informed him of
USS Righthaven hits another iceberg
By J. DeVoy Today, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Hunt held a hearing regarding the Order to Show Cause he previously issued in Righthaven LLC v. Democratic Underground LLC et al, Case No. 2:10-cv-01356 (D. Nev.). Righthaven, represented by Las Vegas attorney Shawn Mangano and national law firm Kirkland & Ellis in this matter (though only Mangano was at the
Can we subpoena the photographer monkey?
By J. DeVoy Subpoenaing the monkey would resolve some of these issues. But we cannot. Per Peter Gabriel, you can shock the monkey – but you cannot subpoena him. Those are for people. Plus, monkeys can be extraordinarily violent. There’s nothing alpha about serving a subpoena on a creature that’s prone to ripping off your face: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca9fOZ-Y74I&w=560&h=349] H/T: Techdirt,
Gonorrhea approaches superbug status
By J. DeVoy For as long as most readers of this blog have been alive, effective and quick treatment of the sexually transmitted disease Gonorrhea has been a given. That may be changing. As has been reported with many types of bacteria, a strain of Gonorrhea has developed that is resistant to most antibiotics currently available. As a result, untested
Ken thinks that Jack Thompson is still a deluded ass
I wholeheartedly agree. (source) According to Jack Thompson, the disbarred and fucktarded former crusader against rock music, porn, and video games, lawyers can’t flip the bird to anyone, ever, apparently.
Dispatches from the front in the primate intellectual property war
By J. DeVoy Monkeys and copyrights have become a topic of fierce debate, and are at the leading edge of the great ongoing war between apes and humanity. Crime and Federalism shows us why we should respect primate claims to intellectual property. Please, someone amend the Copyright Act so that we may know peace in our time.
"Sometimes you have to have tyranny to have freedom"
Best trolling of the Orlando Police Department ever. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pJuedzzLXE] Hat Tip: Mr. DNA
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
Apparently it sounds an awful lot like “Europe’s last dictator” Alexander Lukashenko feeling all butthurt. Lukashenko, the dictator of Belarus has ordered a crackdown on political protests. In order to evade tough regulations on public rallies, protesters eschew placards and shouted slogans, and merely clap their hands to display their anger at Mr. Lukashenko’s policies. Since the weekly flash mob
Righthaven again amends Strategic Alliance Agreement with Stephens Media LLC
By J. DeVoy This new document, filed today, is here. This is Righthaven’s second attempt to amend its strategic alliance agreement with Stephens Media LLC. H/T: Kurt Opsahl, EFF
"Conservatives" — meet your reality. Bachmann signs pledge to wipe her ass with the Constitution
Michelle Bachmann, someone unqualified to clean my toilets, has jumped out ahead of the pack as the new conservative darling. Anyone who thinks of themselves as a conservative should either change name tags or have their heads examined. Bachmann is in the news today for signing a pledge that she will fight homosexuality and pornography. (source) You see, the damn
And the inevitable happens…
Some dipshit insists upon passing “Caylee’s Law.” AUSTIN, Texas — Texas state Sen. Chris Harris says he will introduce a new law to make it a felony for a parent or guardian to not report a missing child.(source) You know, because there is just a rampant problem with parents finding their kids dead and then not telling anyone. Seriously, if
One man's heist from an adult novelty store blows up on him
By J. DeVoy A Virginia man broke into an adult novelty store earlier this week, but did not steal anything. Law enforcement was summoned and, upon arriving on the scene, the suspect fled to a closet in an effort to avoid apprehension. He was then discovered by police — as he was “attempting sexual relations” with a blow-up doll. Naturally,
"Thou shalt condemn prostitution" struck down
The U.S. government mandated that if a group wanted to get funding to combat HIV/AIDS, well then that group could not use any funds “to promote or advocate the legalization or practice of prostitution or sex trafficking.” Further, it imposed the following policy requirement: No funds made available to carry out this Act . . . may be used to
