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Judge Won't Punish Lawyer For Anti-RIAA Blogging
xander_zone_xxx writes with news that Ray Beckerman, known around here as NewYorkCountryLawyer, was not a "vexatious" litigant, as the RIAA claimed. In the same ruling the judge dismissed Beckerman's counter-claims against the RIAA. (We discussed the claims and counters a year back.) "An attorney defending against a music-piracy lawsuit didn't cross ethical bounds by filing motions broadly attacking the recording industry and posting them on his blog, a magistrate judge has ruled, rejecting demands from the RIAA for monetary sanctions. Attorney Ray Beckerman was 'less than forthcoming at times' in defending a client against an RIAA lawsuit, but the music industry's concerns were 'largely overstated,' New York Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy wrote Friday."
Yay for him, but may he beware of being too passionate and involved into what he defends/attacks. Lawyering is best served cold.
You just got troll'd!
Indeed, parts of the judge's statement sounds familiar.
“...took an unusually aggressive stance and, at times, veered into hyperbole and gratuitous attacks on the recording industry as a whole...”
Take out the "the recording industry" and put in "music fans" and it applies to the the RIAA. Actually, that would be an understatement.
The RIAAs statement:
The RIAA, in seeking sanctions, said Beckerman “has maintained an anti-recording industry blog during the course of this case and has consistently posted virtually every one of his baseless motions on his blog seeking to bolster his public relations campaign and embarrass plaintiffs,” the RIAA wrote in court briefs. “Such vexatious conduct demeans the integrity of these judicial proceedings and warrants this imposition of sanctions.”
If they were talking about their anti-consumer lobbying instead of anti-recording industry blog and abusive lawsuits instead of blog postings, it would apply to them. Demeans the integirty of judicial proceedings? Jesus, they're using them to try to bully people to keep supporting their exploitative buisiness practices. A blog post, even if it were -actually- just plain mean and biased, does nothing to cheapen our courts compared to suing individuals because you haven't adapted to current technology.
The RIAA claimed that Lindor, her family and Beckerman "intentionally provided false information, attempted to misdirect plaintiffs as to relevant facts and events, and concealed critical information and evidence regarding the infringement at issue."
In other words, NYCL has delivered information as required but in the way that was the most advantageous to the interests of the defendant he faithfully represents. NYCL does exactly what the plaintiff's attorneys do by being less than forthcoming with evidence that might harm their case and by characterising their evidence in ways that are not consistent with the facts in the case. (I'm sure NYCL might have exception to this assertion, but when it comes to lawyers, I have a presumption of guilt until proven innocent. [smirk])
In essence, the plaintiff's lawyers complain that NYCL is fighting fire with fire, or in their case, bullshit with bullshit and they can't handle it.
Frankly, I can't believe the plaintiff attorneys can perform this "pot calling the kettle black" act with a straight face. Given that most judges were lawyers themselves, I find it unimaginable that they don't already see through the bullshit.
Frankly, I can't believe the plaintiff attorneys can perform this "pot calling the kettle black" act with a straight face. Given that most judges were lawyers themselves, I find it unimaginable that they don't already see through the bullshit.
It seems fairly clear that the judge did see through the BS. Just because someone files a silly complaint and the judge doesn't shoot it down outright doesn't mean they are 'buying' the BS.
I would imagine that many judges are inclined to hear out both side's arguments fully, in order to give the case a fair shake. This probably involves listening to a lot of stupid blathering over the course of a career as a judge. If you just dismiss everything outright, I would think that would make the case more likely to be appealed.
Also, there is an old saying about giving someone enough rope to hang themselves...
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
Well, not that independent. The decision was the first link in the article. Instead of reading the article, I just read the decision. When I saw your post, I went back to it and searched for vexatious to see if you what you said was accurate.
It seems like a decent opinion. The decision to levy sanctions should not be taken lightly. Neither plaintiffs nor defendants should be discouraged from exercising their legal rights.
Ray is one of those 2% of lawyers that the other 98% make things bad for.
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
Ray Beckman has been fighting an uphill battle against the recording industry for years, and it's past time he got a bit more recognition for his efforts. A lot of people don't appreciate that every time one of the RIAA's outrageous tactics receives even limited support in a court of law, that tactic will inevitably make its way into normal corporate practice.
This struggle is about a lot more than alleged theft of music. It's about abuse of the legal system by corporations and individuals with deep pockets as they enforce their will on average people by threatening to bankrupt them in court if they dare to fight back against blatantly unfair practices.
I have great respect for Ray Beckman. We need a thousand more like him.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
...if you're not getting shot at, you're not doing your job right."
Seriously, I think it's great that the RIAA has decided that Mr. Beckerman is enough of a threat to where he needs to be silenced. Don't you? That means he's on to something. He's hit them in a sensitive spot. The enemy has let us know that something has hurt them. And that something is exposure and scrutiny. Enough of that and one day their racket will be over. That's what they fear. The Truth. They know it, and now we know it.
So keep it up NYCL! We're all rooting for you!
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Whatever.
It just sounds like RIAA's lawyers are whining like babies. I read about a similar case where a private individual created a "fan website" for a local mall that was being built. It included preliminary maps, list of future stores, et cetera. When the mall was finished the owners demanded the fan website be yanked, and the ISP complied. The mall's lawyers acted in a manner that I certainly consider "vexatious" such as providing *thousands* of pages in documents, when the individual simply asked for ONE piece of paper during the discovery phase of the trial. He was forced to try to sort through all this trash, and eventually turned to the ACLU for help.
The case eventually reached the SCOTUS who sided with the fan's right to free speech and owning a personal fan website. They also ordered the mall's lawyers to pay the bills incurred.
To this day they still haven't paid.
Why? They claim since the ACLU represented the individual he has no costs (which is flat wrong - he incurred about $1000 prior to the ACLU arrivng to help). This is the way lawyers act - like toadies - not even bothering to follow a clear directive from the Supreme Court. RIAA's whining is nothing more than two-year-olds throwing temper tantrums. What NYCL did was represent his plaintiff, as he's *required* to do per the law, and he acted no differently than how RIAA's own lawyers act in their vigorous defenses of copyright for their clients (including mailing-out vexatious "Pay us $5000 or else" letter to citizens).
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Whether or not you believe he is making it a better country isn't the issue, either... -He- believes that (and so do many others) and he's working on his beliefs.
That's an admirable thing.
So you're saying he's kinda like Jack Thompson?
He can see the true outlines of the questions being decided - and they're much more important than many of the commentators here may imagine. It's not solely about protecting some pirate from having to pay for their downloads - it's also about the music cartel and if they should be allowed to exert total control over the production and distribution of music. While we've been snoozing they've carved out a legal niche where they crouch and work out ways to take even more control for themselves.
Those cartel members are full of self-importance and those stories you hear about "pay per play" or putting independent outlets out of business aren't bedtime stories - these are things the cartel wants and they'll get them and more if nobody stands up to oppose them. Those who think that downloading a few more tunes will make a difference are fooling themselves; they're playing the cartel's game.
It's OK if most of the folks stick to their nice soft beds and don't get involved in important social problems like this one. But we need a few who will - NYCL is one, who else will stand up and fight for the truth?