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Judge Changes Mind, Says James Woods Can Likely Unmask Guy Who Made Fun Of Him On Twitter
www.Techdirt.com ^ | 02/11/2016 | TechDirt

Posted on 02/11/2016 3:17:34 PM PST by aimhigh

Last summer, we noted a crazy case in which the famous Hollywood actor James Woods sued a random Twitter troll who had been making fun of Woods. The anonymous troll.., mocked some of Woods' own nonsensical tweets about Caitlyn Jenner and Planned Parenthood by saying:
"@RealJamesWoods @benshapiro cocaine addict James Woods still sniffing and spouting."
-- Abe List (@abelist) July 15, 2015

Then, earlier this month, there was a hearing, and LA Superior Court judge Mel Recana, appeared to side with Abe List, issuing a 10-page tentative ruling dismissing the case. In that tentative ruling, Judge Recana noted: The court finds . . the tweet at issue is not a statement of fact but rather "rhetorical hyperbole, vigorous epithets, lusty and imaginative expressions of contempt and language used in a loose figurative sense" that does not support a defamation action....

{Less} than a week later, Judge Recana released a 1-page final order that says the exact opposite:
As contended by plaintiff: Applying the totality of circumstances test, .. , it is clear that any reader of the AL False Statement could and indeed must view it as a statement of fact. As described by Professor Finegan, AL's use of a prenomial characterization (i.e., "cocaine addict") followed by a proper noun (i.e., "James Woods") is a well-established linguistic structure widely used to characterize people with shorthand factual information. Prof. Finegan's opinion that "many if not all readers of the 'cocaine addict' Tweet will understand and interpret Abe List to be making a factual claim about James Woods -- namely that he is a cocaine addict' is on an issue of fact. His opinion is sufficiently beyond common experience and assists the trier of fact.

(Excerpt) Read more at techdirt.com ...


TOPICS: Government
KEYWORDS: abelist; abortion; benshapiro; brucejenner; caitlynjenner; court; deathpanels; demagogicparty; jameswoods; judge; melrecana; memebuilding; obamacare; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; plannedparenthood; stemexpress; twitter; zerocare
This will impact many forums.
1 posted on 02/11/2016 3:17:34 PM PST by aimhigh
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To: aimhigh

Hmmm. I made a crack about Bill Maher and booger-sugar on Facebook, earlier.


2 posted on 02/11/2016 3:21:13 PM PST by gundog (Help us, Nairobi-Wan Kenobi...you're our only hope.)
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To: aimhigh
Woods' nonsensical tweets about Caitlyn Jenner and Planned Parenthood

Nope. No bias there.

3 posted on 02/11/2016 3:23:01 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: aimhigh

Yeah, especially those forums which specialize in falsely accusing people of coaine use.


4 posted on 02/11/2016 3:23:01 PM PST by Mr. Lucky
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To: aimhigh

Don’t Tweek and Tweet, I always say...

Or is it

Don’t Toot and Tweet :-?

Oh never mind.

Good luck, James!


5 posted on 02/11/2016 3:23:23 PM PST by NormsRevenge (SEMPER FI!! - Monthly Donors Rock!!)
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To: aimhigh

Oh, NO! I am about to be found out!

I shall never, ever, live this down. Oh, what shall I ever DO! The shame, the shame, I cannot bear it another minute!


6 posted on 02/11/2016 3:25:18 PM PST by alloysteel (If I considered the consequences of my actions, I would rarely do anything.)
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7 posted on 02/11/2016 3:31:13 PM PST by DoughtyOne (the Free Republic Caucus: what FReepers are thinking, 100s or 1000s of them. It's up to you.)
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To: aimhigh

Does this mean I can’t say “ that rapist, Bill Clinton” unless I add “ alleged”?


8 posted on 02/11/2016 3:32:36 PM PST by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
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To: aimhigh

Recent Illinois Supreme Court Ruling

http://www.sltrib.com/home/2641582-155/comcast-must-reveal-anonymous-commenter


9 posted on 02/11/2016 3:34:08 PM PST by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. - Psalm 33:12)
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To: aimhigh

We’ll see how deep the impact will be.

Though I will say that James is very conservative and I enjoy reading his tweets. He’s one of the good guys.


10 posted on 02/11/2016 3:34:17 PM PST by mgstarr ("Some of us drink because we're not poets." Arthur (1981))
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To: VanShuyten

I think, “credibly accused serial rapist,” ought to cover your bases.


11 posted on 02/11/2016 3:36:13 PM PST by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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To: mgstarr

I agree.


12 posted on 02/11/2016 3:38:12 PM PST by apocalypto
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Great development, poor source for the story.

13 posted on 02/11/2016 4:09:45 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: gundog

Hmmm. I made a crack about Bill Maher and booger-sugar on Facebook, earlier”

I make fun of Peen Face all the time


14 posted on 02/11/2016 5:08:50 PM PST by Cyman
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To: aimhigh

Used to be that credibility was taken into account, an anonymous whispering campaign didn’t mean as much as something from a source that acknowledged itself.


15 posted on 02/11/2016 5:12:36 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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