The ??AA tries to get no warrant raids legalized in California

[thewayne]

Basically, they've bought extreme access to some lawmakers to get a bill introduced saying that there are illegal disc pressing plants (where music CD's and movie DVD's are made) that are churning out a Sagan or two of illegal pirated material and costing Hollywood a Sagan or three, and this law will allow law enforcement to raid pressing plants without a warrant and they can seize equipment.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/05/riaa-warrantless-seizures/

I freely admit that piracy is a problem. But I think the ??AA are blowing their problems with piracy totally out of the water. How can Hollywood consistently post record movie box office receipts if they're losing a brazillian dollars to pirates? It don't compute. But this is entirely overboard: if they suspect a plant is illegally pressing discs, then they should report it to law enforcement who can perform surveillance to establish the facts, they can then get a search warrant and raid the place if the evidence merits it. Conducting a raid without a warrant is beyond the pale and I doubt there's any way that such a law would survive challenge.


Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rules 8-1 that in a case where police kicked in a door, without a warrant, and caught the people in the apartment with drugs, that it was not an illegal search.

WHEEEE!

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/05/warrantless-house-search/

Comments

[silveradept]

Isn't it nice that our Corporate Overlords are making sure that they can do whatever they want, regardless of what the law says, and get law enforcement to do their lawless bidding at the same time?

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

I don't understand how someone would dare to submit a bill that was blatantly unconstitutional.

[silveradept]

Knowing full well the Court is sufficiently conservative and/or in business's pocket that they would vote to uphold it, despite the obviousness of the constitutional issue.

The Citizens United decision was a signal that it was open season for business to poach anything they wanted.