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NYCL Responds to RIAA Accusations
Posted by
timothy
on Sat Nov 08, 2008 05:42 PM
from the bob-dole-and-nycl-never-seen-in-same-room dept.
from the bob-dole-and-nycl-never-seen-in-same-room dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "You may recall that when the RIAA decided to run away with its tail between its legs in the long running Brooklyn case against a home health aide who has never used a computer, UMG v. Lindor, it decided to take some parting shots at the defendant and NewYorkCountryLawyer, asking for 'discovery sanctions,' and blaming them for its inability to prove its case. Today NYCL gave them his response, accusing the RIAA lawyers of persistent misstatements of fact (PDF) throughout their motion papers, and of flouting the rules and misstating the law (PDF). Although the RIAA's motion papers took a number of shots at NYCL's copyright law blog, 'Recording Industry vs. The People,' NYCL confined his response on that subject to a single footnote."
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pettyness (Score:5, Funny)
This kind of behavior is the lawyer equivalent of turning the lights off while someone else is in the bathroom. They probably left the toilet seat up too. Grr. Argh... wet socks.
Re:Fascism We Can Believe In! (Score:5, Funny)
Service guarantees citizenship. Would you like to know more?
Parent
Re:pettyness (Score:5, Insightful)
if you don't know where your junk is by now....
Dude...check the username.
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Way to go! (Score:5, Interesting)
It's nice to see someone like NYCL take such an in-your-face position against the RIAA's actions and come out on top.
Re:Way to go! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Way to go! (Score:5, Funny)
Besides, if firefighters fight fires, and crime fighters fight crime, what do freedom fighters fight?
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Third Person (Score:5, Funny)
NYCL writes in third person? Anonymous coward approves.
Re:Third Person (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Third Person (Score:5, Informative)
Why haven't we seen NYCL here for a while? Court gag order or something?
I submitted 2 stories on October 28th, one of which got accepted, one of which got rejected. Since then there just hasn't been any Slashdot-worthy RIAA litigation news.
Parent
Re:Third Person (Score:5, Informative)
moderation in your submittals is what makes me read every one you post
Thank you. I appreciate that.
I try to keep in mind the distinction between my blog and my Slashdot submissions.
In my blog, I just try to give complete information, so that lawyers representing defendants won't get caught off guard by anything that happens and will have a full set of legal resources to use in preparing their own arguments and legal documents. I.e. I post things that aren't really surprising or newsworthy, but they're just useful information to have in one place.
My Slashdot submissions are confined to things that I think the world should know about. However, Slashdot's editors don't always agree with my assessment and more of my submissions are rejected than submitted.
One thing I try to do, which I see in Groklaw, but nowhere else in the news world, is to give people access to the actual legal documents, so they can make up their minds for themselves. I hate reading news articles about legal events where the articles do not share with the reader copies of any of the underlying documents. In this day and age, where almost all federal litigation is electronic and there are *pdf files of every document, I feel there is no excuse for holding back on that.
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Footnote (Score:5, Insightful)
I decline to enter into a point-by-point rejoinder in defense of my modest foray into "blogging". Suffice it to say that (a) my law blog is irrelevant to the motion, (b) plaintiffs' counsel themselves rely upon the blog in the course of their legal work....(c) many in-house university counsels and student legal services offices refer their students to it ....... (d) many law schools and colleges use it in their curricula ..... (e) many
reputable organizations have found the views expressed in it to be worthy of further in-depth
consideration...... (f) it has been cited in law review articles.....(g) plaintiffs' counsel are not candid
about their real problem with the blog, which is that its existence interferes with their tactic of
attempting to conceal the litigation events and prior inconsistent statements they don't want
others to know about, from judges, litigants, and law enforcement authorities
Emphasis mine. He then goes on to give a specific example of why the RIAA hates his blog, basically because it exposes the stupid things they do to the world.
Must be a fun job to use the law to destroy evil. Kind of like that old movie The Rainmaker. If I were Ray Beckerman, I would feel like I were in a movie.
Re:Footnote (Score:5, Insightful)
I disagree that the cases are "funny". The recklessness expressed by the RIAA lawyers and the utter lack of common sense and decency in both professional and private conduct are disturbing. Please remember that the "accused" are scarred for life. Even if all wrongfully sued people get fully compensated, they still lose out because they have been stressed, bashed and abused.
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Re:Footnote (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Footnote (Score:5, Informative)
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due vs. undue stress (Score:5, Insightful)
Being stressed, bashed, scarred, and abused is part of life.
True, and people should have some amount of thick skin. But...
When people stress others without caring for their well-being and (more importantly) without a valid reason and do so repeatedly, that's where it becomes chicanery and where I think it's reasonable to step in.
Whether we're talking about schoolyard bullies or corporate dragnet litigation, there should be some way of stopping chicanery. Lawsuits are not like an abusive spouse: you can't just divorce it.
Looked at the Skinnerian way, when people harass you, we need you to have some way of punishing them. Otherwise, as symes said (http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1022819&cid=25690283), you become stressed out with bad effects to your health.
Shame me for using anecdotal evidence all you want; I know what ten years of near-constant bullying can do to you. When you feel universally hated and persecuted, you don't have the most fertile ground for developing social skills; what you do have is fertile grounds for developing social anxiety.
When on top of the endless bullying your cries for help go unanswered, you learn that you can't rely on anyone when you're in need, that no one cares about your well-being, and that people in practice have the right to mistreat you however they want.
I do not want to be expected to tell my children that "this is a part of life".
Parent
Re:Footnote (Score:5, Insightful)
Being stressed, bashed, scarred, and abused is part of life.
Death is also a part of life. Yet we try to avoid it when possible and take a dim view on anyone forcing it on to others.
Parent
Re:Footnote (Score:5, Insightful)
Their policy is not to 'make sense'. Their policy is to frighten people. An insane attack dog is more frightening, and in a number of more ways more effective, than a well-trained guard dog to keep people off the territory where you let the dog loose, even if you do not in fact own that territory and have no legal cause to let that dog hurt anyone.
Plenty of people in the music industry, especially in production and distribution, have mastered this art for many years, against agents, performers, and normal purchasers. This is just another form of the 'trial by champions' or effectively 'trial by mercenaries in suits' that legal systems have provided since the time of the crucifixion of Jesus and Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the mess.
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Re:Footnote (Score:5, Interesting)
I disagree that the cases are "funny". The recklessness expressed by the RIAA lawyers and the utter lack of common sense and decency in both professional and private conduct are disturbing. Please remember that the "accused" are scarred for life. Even if all wrongfully sued people get fully compensated, they still lose out because they have been stressed, bashed and abused.
Very, very true. You were deservably modded to +5.
Parent
Re:Footnote (Score:5, Informative)
Maybe he needs a donation page?
Well this [blogspot.com] would be even better.
Parent
One man army? (Score:5, Insightful)
Here's a guy who has single handedly changed my opinion of lawyers. Certianly he has friends here, I'd give him a dollar. But at the same time his existence speaks badly of other lawyers. The question is: Why are there not more like him? We all recognise the RIAA are effectively an extorion racket. Why do more not speak up and take on these criminals? Leading by example may not be enough. If I were NYCL my focus would be converting more of my peers, raising an army against the RIAA. A one man battle is heroic and all, but sooner or later we all need help. It's time other lawyers saw which way the wind is blowing and get behind this leader.
Re:One man army? (Score:5, Insightful)
As much as I respect NYCL, the reason you don't see more like him is that it doesn't pay. Being noble is difficult when it effects your ability to feed your kids.
I laud his efforts, but he is a jewel in the rough.
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Re:One man army? (Score:5, Insightful)
If I were NYCL my focus would be converting more of my peers, raising an army against the RIAA.
That really has been my focus. The purpose of the blog was to empower other lawyers. Since I started it, more and more lawyers have come into the fold. I give them free listings in my "Directory of Defense Lawyers" and we try to help each other whenever we can. Are there enough lawyers doing it? No. But more and more are coming into the fight.
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To New York County Lawyer (Score:5, Insightful)
We salute you, sir.
Re:No FRCP 11(c)(2) motion? (Score:5, Informative)
NYCL, I'm surprised. With all of the egregious conduct you're documented, I'm surprised you're just making a declaration in opposition rather than a motion of your own for sanctions under FRCP 11(c)(2). Is your reasoning something you can share with us, or shall we just watch the master in action? ;-)
Can't comment on that.
Here's [cornell.edu] a link to Rule 11.
Parent
Re:'With Prejudice' (Score:5, Insightful)
How would NYCL react to his being cast as Jack Nicholson?
I don't really care who they cast as me, as long as they give me a nice fee -- like maybe 5% of what Jack Nicholson gets for a movie.
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