p2pnet - rss feed: RIAA lawyer / judgeship controversy
p2pnet news | RIAA News:- “Brian Toder, the attorney who unsuccessfully acted for Jammie Thomas, the only one of the RIAA’s 40,000 victims to appear a civil court, was instrumental in helping Richard Gabriel, the RIAA lawyer who defeated him, gain a much-coveted post,” said p2pnet last Wednesday, going on, “Gabriel was under consideration for a judgeship in Colorado and officials who were vetting the RIAA lawyer called Toder, seeking his opinion.”
In an earlier post,”Incredibly, Richie Gabriel, the Colorado-based Holmes Owen and Bird attack lawyer used by Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG’s RIAA to terrorise scores of innocent American men, women and even children, has been named as a judge,” we said.
“Richard Lance Gabriel takes his place on the Colorado bench as of July 1 ….”
Now, in a story noting Gabriel, “the Denver lawyer who has led the recording industry’s litigation battles against file sharing and music downloading, will soon be singing a different song,” says Legal Blog Watch, going on >>>
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Gabriel this week to a newly created seat on the Colorado Court of Appeals, effective July 1. A partner with the law firm Holme Roberts & Owen, Gabriel has been national lead counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America in its lawsuits to put an end to what it contends is illegal music distribution. He has personally appeared as lead counsel in most of the best known of these cases, including the only one that has gone to trial.
Not surprisingly, the peer-to-peer fans at p2pnet are not happy about the news, not because they’ll miss going up against him, but because they question his ability to be impartial. The p2pnet post on his appointment describes him as an “attack lawyer” who RIAA used “to terrorize scores of innocent American men, women and even children.” Another person not likely to be thrilled about the appointment: Gabriel’s frequent adversary, Ray Beckerman, author of the blog Recording Industry vs. The People.”
In a comment on p2pnet, “I am outraged,” said Beckerman. “I have far more experience litigating with Mr. Gabriel than does Mr. Toder. The Colorado officials did not do their job very carefully by allowing Mr. Gabriel to hand pick his references. That is not ‘due diligence’.”
Not surprising, you argue. Beckerman was a protagonist. So how could he be a suitable due diligence reference for Gabriel?
However, Toder, too, spent a lot of time in court arguing against Gabriel. And yet he was acceptable, decided the people who appointed the still serving (for the moment) RIAA legal hit man.
Here’s what Beckerman has to say about the Legal Blog item >>>
Why wouldn’t I be thrilled?
1. I’m glad that the RIAA has lost the only lawyer it trusted to argue major motions and trials. His clones do not have his skill in deception, which is a basic requirement for the job of representing the RIAA.
2. I’m glad that Mr. Gabriel now has the opportunity to find honest work.
3. I’m glad that Mr. Gabriel will now not be raking in millions of dollars in blood money every year.
4. I’m glad for Mr. Gabriel’s family that he will now be travelling less, and have more time to spend with them; it will probably help him develop some perspective, which he has been sorely lacking.
5. I’m glad that Mr. Gabriel can now make a living doing something other than suing children, the disabled, homeless people, people living on welfare or social security, and other defenseless Americans.
6. I’m glad that Mr. Gabriel will now have to apply the law, rather than to try to reinvent it.
7. I’m glad for Mr. Gabriel’s family that he may be getting out before the Rule 11 sanctions start coming in.
8. I’m glad that the Colorado state officials charged with doing their “due diligence” in investigating Mr. Gabriel’s background did not call his most frequent adversary during the past 2 1/2 years [that would be me], since I might have said something I’d regret later.
9. Lastly, I’ve always regretted not living in New Mexico or Colorado. Now I can cross Colorado off that list. At least for the next 2 years. So I’m glad to have one less regret in life.
It’s the good folks of Colorado who have reason not to be “thrilled”.
Stay tuned.
Jon Newton - p2pnet
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May 10th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Toder is an RIAA drone this is why Jammie lost her first trial. A total scam this trial!
Fine with us. No Justice no peace.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Why dont the just all f–k off sort out there buisness models the way i see it if the movie industrys dont like there property ending up on filesharing networks STOP GIVING CINEMAS MONTHS exclusivity and release it to all major players and countrys the same time give people the choice they want i dont wanna sit in a decrepid old cinema to watch a movie and i dont wanna have to wait months from i see it advertised close the window of exclusivity close the need to pilfer from filesdharing networks!
May 10th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Ray: 7. I’m glad for Mr. Gabriel’s family that he may be getting out before the Rule 11 sanctions start coming in.
I’m having trouble processing this. How can he “get out”, is there some immunity or statue of limitations? Just because he’s not their lead council any more, isn’t he guilty of the transgressions of the past?
If ever there was a guy in need of some “corrective” action, it’s RIAA Richard. I’m sure the US legal system has dealt with scum lawyers before, why is there soooo much resistance to stopping it, is the threat of Rule 11 sanctions as toothless as they appear?
May 10th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
This is a good thing ( I think ). I’m not a lawyer, but I would think that Gabriel will not be able to hear any cases that even remotely relate to the RIAA and file sharing, so this effectively gets him out of the way.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Sadly, you are incorrect Jimmy B. Gabriel will still be able to hear any cases in Colorado related to the RIAA and file sharing; however, it will be easier to appeal to the Appeals Court in those cases due to the fact that the Appeals Court is responsible for accepting any appeals related to court cases where a judge may have strong biases in.
For the people of Colorado, this is a terrible thing. It means that lawsuits will become twice as expensive as they will have to naturally appeal to the Appeals Court every decision that Richard Gabriel makes. It also means that the state will have probably one of the worst judges in history.
For Richard Gabriel, this is a terrible thing. The Appeals Court could easily consider him to be an extremely biased judge that tries to invent laws rather than applying laws (which Gabriel has done frequently in the past), which could result in many fines and jail time for Richard Gabriel.
For the RIAA, this is a terrible thing. They lost leverage around the world, but only gained leverage in destroying Colorado, which is a state that has very little population and wealth to benefit RIAA much.
For the rest of the world, this is a great thing. After all, what is bad for RIAA is great for everyone else.