Original post:
One hell of a story and beautifully told, by both the Judge and the blogger. Follow the Popehat links for a look at the sleazy nether regions of American jurisprudence.
First line of the 11 page "Order Issuing Sanctions":
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
—Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
From the order:—Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
I. INTRODUCTION
First up, Popehat on the Prenda Law Firm story:Plaintiffs have outmaneuvered the legal system.They’ve discovered the nexus of antiquated copyright laws, paralyzing social stigma, and unaffordable defense costs. And they exploit this anomaly by accusing individuals of illegally downloading a single pornographic video. Then they offer to settle—for a sum calculated to be just below the cost of a bare-bones defense. For these individuals, resistance is futile; most reluctantly pay rather than have their names associated with illegally downloading porn.
So now, copyright laws originally designed to compensate starving artists, allow starving attorneys in this electronic-media era to plunder the citizenry....
Does Prenda Believe In No-Win Scenarios? Because Judge Wright Just Gave Them One.
All of Popehat's Prenda coverage is collected here.
Watchers of the Prenda Law saga have been waiting for United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II to issue an order in the wake of his apocalyptic hearing on proposed sanctions against Prenda Law, its putative client entities, and its lawyers. During that wait, doubt has set in. Could Judge Wright's order, after all this drama, possibly live up to expectations? Could any dry memorandum capture the jaw-dropping antics that have come before?
Yeeeeop.
This afternoon Judge Wright issued an annihilating, hull-breaching order against Prenda Law, its principals, and its plaintiff entities. How does a federal judge assure that an already-dramatic situation is even more popcorn-worthy for an internet obsessed with it? He starts it with a Wrath of Khan quote:
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”From there, the Star Trek references come fast and furious. ("As evidence materialized, it turned out that Gibbs was just a redshirt.") Clean up in Aisle Geek!
—Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
There are two important elements to the order. The first is what Judge Wright concluded. The second is the remedy he chose.
Never Will You Find A More Wretched Hive Of . . . Wait, Wrong Franchise
Judge Wright's order begins with what can be interpreted as a full salvo against not just Prenda Law, but the entire Bittorrent download litigation model...
...But from there, Judge Wright quickly begins to assault Prenda in particular:Set phasers on stun:
It was when the Court realized Plaintiffs engaged their cloak of shell companies and fraud that the Court went to battlestations.
Judge Wright goes on to make specific findings of fact....HT: Electronic Frontier Foundation
...They're Screwed, Jim
...But we haven't gotten to the real action yet.
- Judge Wright says he is referring Steele, Duffy, Hansmeier, and Gibbs to their respective state bars and federal bars, and asks Morgan Pietz to identify those bars.
- And then:
Third, though Plaintiffs boldly probe the outskirts of law, the only enterprise they resemble is RICO. The federal agency eleven decks up [U.S. attorney -ed] is familiar with their prime directive and will gladly refit them for their next voyage. The Court will refer this matter to the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. The will also refer this matter to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and will notify all judges before whom these attorneys have pending cases.Referring to the U.S. Attorney's Office and the IRS's CID is like siccing both the Klingons and the Romulans on Prenda, except that the Romulans have a somewhat better grasp of due process than IRS CID....MORE
...They're Screwed, Jim
The LA Times headline:
Judge calls Prenda Law and others a 'porno trolling collective'Hizzoner is seriously pissed.
