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Judge Tells RIAA To Stop 'Bankrupting' Litigants

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the also-bake-them-cookies dept.

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The Boston judge who has consolidated all of the RIAA's Massachusetts cases into a single case over which she has been presiding for the past 5 years delivered something of a rebuke to the RIAA's lawyers, we have learned. At a conference this past June, the transcript of which (PDF) has just been released, Judge Nancy Gertner said to them that they 'have an ethical obligation to fully understand that they are fighting people without lawyers ... to understand that the formalities of this are basically bankrupting people, and it's terribly critical that you stop it ...' She also acknowledged that 'there is a huge imbalance in these cases. The record companies are represented by large law firms with substantial resources,' while it is futile for self-represented defendants to resist. The judge did not seem to acknowledge any responsibility on her part, however, for having created the 'imbalance,' and also stated that the law is 'overwhelmingly on the side of the record companies,' even though she seems to recognize that for the past 5 years she has been hearing only one side of the legal story."

4 of 332 comments (clear)

  1. I wonder if it's election season for this judge? by Grendel_Prime · · Score: 0, Troll

    That's the only time they seem to care what people think about the cases they hear and decide.

  2. Re:Judge did not create the situation... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    the people being sued provoked the RIAA by allegedly sharing the files in question

    Think how that would sound if you made the following substitutions:
    sued: raped
    RIAA: gang
    sharing the files: wearing short dresses and provocative makeup

  3. Re:With friends like her .... by Havok3114 · · Score: 0, Troll

    " A courtroom is a place to find the truth in a legal or civil dispute.

    I call BS on this. The courtrooms in the US have absolutely nothing to do with finding the truth. The truth is irrelevant in US courts. All that is cared about in these courts is what is legal and what is not (or where liability lies). There is no room in what is legal to for truth. If something is true and legal, great. But the laws here actually allow for something to not be true and still be legal. Legality (or liability) is everything.

  4. Re:Why should copyright-breakers have it easier? by Muad'Dave · · Score: 0, Troll

    ...my girlfriend got a ticket in the mail saying "You were double parked..."

    So let me get this straight - your girlfriend is so large she got a ticket for being double-parked?

    --
    Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.