RIAA Victim Jammie Thomas Gets a New Lawyer 241
newtley writes "Only days after Brian Toder, her previous legal representative, had decided discretion was the better part of valour, leaving her fend for herself against the RIAA, Jammie Thomas says another lawyer has come forward with an offer of pro bono help. He's K.A.D. Camara from Camara & Sibley in Houston, Texas, says Jammie. And, 'He's the youngest person in history to graduate from Harvard Law school with honors,' she points out. Nor will her retrial be delayed, as was expected. It'll now go forward in June 15, as slated. 'I'm so happy!' Jammie said."
Re:Young lawyer != good lawyer (Score:3, Interesting)
He is taking the side opposite of corporate fatcats, people who could potentially employ him for large sums of money. If he's doing this for the dough, he's not very smart.
You can piss off the corporate fat cats; if you beat them senseless in court, then they will immediately see the merits of hiring you. If they see a need for you, they'll hire you in a second. With that said, 99.9% of the "fat cats" have lawyers on retainer and/or their very own legal staff.
Also, this guy is apparently quite intelligent. Maybe he is actually smart enough to know there's more to life than money.
Re:Young lawyer != good lawyer (Score:3, Interesting)
> The 10s I think will be the information revolution decade.
The 10s will be the decade where we see the struggle and balance between the incredible power of all-seeing technology used for both fascist control of every aspect of our lives and for the freedom to exchange knowledge and associate in ways never before possible.
I hope the good guys win, because George Orwell only had the slightest idea what would be possible with todays technology.
Re:Non-PC shorthand (Score:3, Interesting)
How about referring to the guy in the office next to yours by his name.
Yes, because that always works.
Me: "My buddy from work is gonna meet us at the Star Trek move; he'll probably get there before me. "
Friend: "That's cool, I'll give him his ticket. What's he look like?"
Me: "um... his name is Ken?"
Re:Young lawyer != good lawyer (Score:4, Interesting)
This should be very interesting. K.A.D. Camara is not only a very bright young lawyer, he also has credentials in computer science and would probably be accepted by the Court as an expert witness on the technology (except for the conflict of roles). Not that he would do that. Just that he could do that. There is no question that he is going to be more knowledgeable about the technology than any other lawyer or judge involved in the RIAA cases. If Camara wants to rapidly establish himself as THE expert on IT law, this pro bono work is an excellent start. The RIAA lawyers should be afraid. Very afraid. For whatever his reason might be, they are now facing a crusader who knows the landscape better than they do.
Also, unlike the first trial, this time he will have an expert witness, thanks to the grant Jammie received from the Free Software Foundation enabling her to hire an expert. See Expert Witness Report of Prof. Yongdae Kim [blogspot.com].
Re:How about NOT stealing your music? (Score:3, Interesting)
This is what makes the RIAA so outrageous.
They want to have a wet-dream of pay by the minute for you RENTING your own stuff, and transfer fees for putting it on your devices.
This is, by definition, rent seeking.
Hey, I just noticed something...The RIAA doesn't have much real competition does it?
What if the RIAA had to fight with a rival for its dough?
Re:Non-PC shorthand (Score:3, Interesting)
That's the convention. Refer to them as black, but only if their appearance or ethnicity is pertinent to the discussion at hand. It's not hard.
Clearly you and I both have an interest in the existence of a convention. We're just not entitled to a vote on what that convention is. With few exceptions, any white person who feels entitled to such a vote is a jackass. That's my argument.
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Non-PC shorthand (Score:4, Interesting)
As a 3th generation Irish American I agree.
I am also lacking in white guilt. None of my ansestors ever oppresed them. MY ancestors were being oppresed by the British after Lincoln freed the slaves in this country. Did any of them come over and free my people? Nope.
I know the score. I also know I would rather be a black person cut off from welfare and who has NO education AND a drug adiction problem than to be born in the lower caste in India. Or a pesant farmer in China.
Despite the fact there are some people who are outright racist in America. Some who are a bit edgy about Minorities. There are plenty of oprotunties and plenty of people who don't care what you look like. The internet helps with this. I work from home and no one knows my sex or age or skin color or religon.