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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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To any paralegals being forced to read this thread, let me apologize right now for repeatedly posting this picture.

8799023.jpg


But at least you can "Bill" for it and make some "Cash".

Neil
For some reason he popped up in a dream I had last night. No idea why. I think this thread has started to brainwash me... :cardie:
 
Federal courts tend to be more skeptical of cameras. The U.S. Supreme Court won't allow them at all. (Retired Justice David Souter once famously remarked that Supreme Court arguments would be televised "over my dead body.") And as I noted in my last post, the Judicial Council of the United States has only approved a "pilot program" for televising civil cases only in a handful of district courts. However, many intermediate appellate courts, including the Ninth Circuit, do now televise arguments.

Personally, I'm not all that big on actually televising civil court cases. To me, that would be one way of pressuring witnesses not to act as they normally would (or even to outright lie). It's one thing for a court to see something happen, but entirely another for some unknown number of TV viewers to see it.

That said, with data storage getting so cheap, I do think there's a good argument for recording video of all court cases for the court's archives. Could be used for future research, verification of transcripts, and so on.

Then again, I don't really want to pay the taxes they'd have to levy in order to do this. :devil:
 
I'd love to see these puppets:
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Podcasts are a part of the plaintiffs' motions in limine:
http://www.semanticshenanigans.com/axanar-plaintiffs-motions-limine/

And, I have a new blog post about the defense motions in limine:
http://www.semanticshenanigans.com/axanar-defense-motions-limine/
(now with fun imagery!)

As for the newest documents, they will have to wait a little as paid work comes first and we are rushing to get stuff done before the break. Thank you, as always, for your kind support. :)
 
As @MikeH92467 noted, cameras aren't a big deal for many state-level courts. It's also more accepted abroad. I've covered the British courts, and the UK Supreme Court televises all arguments, such as the recent Brexit appeal. (Although to be fair, I'm not sure they actually televise civil trials in the UK.)
They don't, which is a shame because I always fancied being on TV. :)

Seriously though....

I am very much for cameras in all courtrooms (I got used to them covering trials in Florida where they are taken for granted and are no longer a novelty or distraction). Trials should be conducted "publicly" and in today's electronic communications era, I believe that "publicly" means anyone who wants to see a trial anywhere should be able to. That's not because there's any great entertainment value in any given trial.
Entertainment should be the last consideration when it comes to public access to the courts. I am vehemently against the televising of hearings for that reason, especially the kind of cases that deal with deeply personal issues for those involved. I would rather not see people wheeled out for a Victorian freak show, nor lawyers playing up to the camera. One of the proudest things for me about the British approach to hearings is that there are no theatrics. We stick to the law and the arguments. I fear that will be compromised....and compromising it just to give the public voyeuristic entertainment is not a good reason to do so in my opinion.
 
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Regarding the extract from the Witness List...

"[Peters] will testify regarding his innocent intent with respect to any infringement, and his reliance on the longstanding fan film tradition in Star Trek. He will testify regarding the history of his own Star Trek fandom."

...how would that bold highlighted phrase come into matters? How is that relevant?

Yea, you know, that really jar-jars in retrospect.

Clearly its part of setting a narrative that this arose from a "fan" effort, and any resemblance to a commercial enterprise is just an accident.

In a targ's eye.
 
Trials should be conducted "publicly" and in today's electronic communications era, I believe that "publicly" means anyone who wants to see a trial anywhere should be able to.
I disagree, and I think the Axanar case is a good illustration of why civil trials should generally not be televised. I concur with @Smoked Salmon that televising trials would merely be an exercise in "public voyeuristic entertainment." It has nothing to do with public access to the courts or the "public's right to know" (which is a BS argument advanced by self-serving media professionals). Especially in the age of social media, where the marginal cost of bullying is zero, every online troll should not be given easy access to footage of witness testimony or jurors, which will inevitably be weaponized in the form of YouTube videos and animated GIFs.

Note I'm speaking only of trials involving witnesses and jurors. I still favor televising oral arguments before appellate courts, which are generally about the law, not the facts, and only involve the attorneys and judges.
 
Entertainment should be the last consideration when it comes to public access to the courts. I am vehemently against the televising of hearings for that reason, especially the kind of cases that deal with deeply personal issues for those involved. I would rather not see people wheeled out for a Victorian freak show, nor lawyers playing up to the camera. One of the proudest things for me about the British approach to hearings is that there are no theatrics. We stick to the law and the arguments. I fear that will be compromised....and compromising it just to give the public voyeuristic entertainment is not a good reason to do so in my opinion.
Totally agree about the concern over theatrics and some sort of sick "entertainment" value. My experience (and it's considerable) is that where the judge keeps a firm grip on things a trial will be conducted with dignity and respect. There are downsides, but I think the writers of the American Constitution dealt with the same issues when they wrote into the basic law the right for "public" trials. On the whole (again acknowledging that it is not a panacea) I believe televising trials is a good thing.
 
Good luck finding jurors if they can be on-net identified in public during the trial and their families can then be deeply harmed/threatened in realtime by deniable actors in ALL cases. Having the names during trial might become a lot more eroded practise than it is now if personal threats are trivial effort to make. Points 2 and 5 below seem quite vulnerable.

https://www.rcfp.org/secret-justice-jury-records-and-proceedings/rise-anonymous-juries

Most federal appellate courts have decided whether to withhold juror identities based on some combination of the following five factors: (1) the defendant’s involvement in organized crime; (2) the defendant’s participation in a group with the capacity to harm jurors; (3) the defendant’s past attempts to interfere with the judicial process; (4) the potential that the defendant will get a long jail sentence or substantial fines if convicted; and (5) extensive publicity that could expose jurors to intimidation or harassment. (U.S. v. Sanchez).
 
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Good luck finding jurors if they can be identified in public during the trial and their families can then be deeply harmed/threatened in realtime by deniable actors in ALL cases. Having the names during trial might become a lot more eroded than it is now if personal threats are trivial effort to make. Points 2 and 5 below seem quite vulnerable.

https://www.rcfp.org/secret-justice-jury-records-and-proceedings/rise-anonymous-juries
Even in areas of the country where cameras are allowed the one involitile rule - you can NEVER shoot/show ANY member of the Jury.
 
Witness ListOn AxaMonitor: The Axanar trial's proposed witness list includes Star Trek producer J.J. Abrams and director Justin Lin. Alec Peters is slated for at least eight hours on the stand. The list of the rest of the witnesses sum up both sides' cases.
 
but is it not the case that names/addresses of jurors are available during the trial in many cases?
It's easier to get them if it's a Civil case, yes. In Criminal cases (depending on the situation); the Judge may rule that Juror info is NOT to be made public/available; but again, that's on a case by case basis - and there would need to be a compelling reason.

Any suspicions when there might be a decision about the motions to dismiss?
Will this actually rumble into a trial?
Do you mean the motions for summary judgement? The MtDs were ruled on (and denied) quite a while ago.
 
Any suspicions when there might be a decision about the motions to dismiss?
Will this actually rumble into a trial?
Assuming you mean the summary judgment motions, odds are that some material facts remain in dispute, despite both sides' efforts to portray them to the contrary. So long as that's the case the judge has to send the case forward to trial. Unless he manages to eke out enough undisputed facts for a partial summary judgment (which is technically what the plaintiffs have asked for).
 
Do you mean the motions for summary judgement? The MtDs were ruled on (and denied) quite a while ago.

Ugh. Yes. Sorry. That's what I meant.

Assuming you mean the summary judgment motions, odds are that some material facts remain in dispute, despite both sides' efforts to portray them to the contrary. So long as that's the case the judge has to send the case forward to trial. Unless he manages to eke out enough undisputed facts for a partial summary judgment (which is technically what the plaintiffs have asked for).

Ah. Thanks.
 
Will they (the Axanar group) be asked how far along their application for non-profit status is?

It just struck me how overwhelmingly often this response applies to Axanar assertions:

"I don't think that means what you think it means."
 
Will they (the Axanar group) be asked how far along their application for non-profit status is?
At trial? Probably not by the plaintiffs, for whom Axanar's potential nonprofit status is irrelevant to copyright infringement; they were a for-profit at the time the suit was filed.

If the defense raised the issue it would only be as an emotional appeal to the jury; that could easily backfire on them.
 
If the defense raised the issue it would only be as an emotional appeal to the jury; that could easily backfire on them.

If they have any brains AT ALL they will completely drop the suggestion to the jury that they were 'filing for nonprofit' for a couple years but just couldn't get it done, what with all the junkets and dinners and illegal merchandising.

If they don't bring it up, perhaps they could object on irrelevancy to C/P raising it. (Or have deposition statements gone too far on it to duck now?)

Maybe Mr. Peters should appear in Horta costume. Seemingly destroying things but really just protecting his babies, and attorneys have to mind meld to get the slightest words from him, "No profit I".
 
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