Latest news with #2ndCircuit
Reuters
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
US appeals court rules for Sorkin's 'Mockingbird' play in copyright dispute
July 29 (Reuters) - The developers of the 2018 Aaron Sorkin stage adaptation of Harper Lee's seminal novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" convinced a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday to rule against the owners of the book's 1990 stage adaptation, who had attempted to block "second-class" and amateur performances of the newer play under federal copyright law. Upholding a trial judge's order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit said that, opens new tab after Lee reclaimed her rights to the 1990 adaptation from the Dramatic Publishing Company, the company lost its right to block Atticus LLC's "non-first-class" performances of the 2018 version. Attorneys for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision. Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird," her classic Southern novel about Scout Finch and her honorable attorney father Atticus, in 1960. She granted Dramatic the right to develop a stage adaptation of the book in 1969. Their contract said that Dramatic's version would be "the only one the amateur acting rights of which [Lee] will permit to be leased and/or licensed." Lee terminated the contract and reclaimed her rights under U.S. copyright law in 2011. She gave producer Scott Rudin's company the right to produce what became the Sorkin adaptation in 2015. That company later assigned its rights to Atticus LLC. Sorkin's adaptation was first staged in 2018 after Rudin's company resolved a separate lawsuit from Lee's estate alleging that the play deviated too far from Lee's novel. An arbitrator found in 2019 during a previous dispute between Atticus and Dramatic that the latter maintained its exclusive right to "non-first-class" theater performances of "To Kill a Mockingbird" despite Lee's termination. Atticus filed a lawsuit in New York challenging the arbitrator's ruling, and a federal judge ruled for Atticus in 2023. The 2nd Circuit agreed with the lower court on Tuesday that Dramatic did not have the right to block Atticus from allowing amateur performances of Sorkin's play following Lee's termination of Dramatic's contract. The case is Atticus LLC v. Dramatic Publishing Co, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, No. 23-1226. For Atticus: Wook Hwang of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton For Dramatic: Willy Jay of Goodwin Procter Read more: Harper Lee estate sues Broadway's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' play Broadway's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' may be scrapped in legal flap Broadway's 'Mockingbird' play to go ahead after dispute settled
The Hill
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Judges rule against Trump appeal in E. Jean Carroll case
A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled to uphold a jury verdict that determined President Trump was guilty of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. The three-judge panel issued a mandate to affirm the previous district court ruling despite the president's attempts to appeal the ruling that sided with Carroll, who claimed that he sexually abused her at a New York City department store in the mid-1990s. 'Thursday, July 10th, 2025 So long, Old Man! The United States Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, bids thee farewell,' Carroll wrote in a post celebrating the ruling on X. However, Trump may attempt to submit another appeal to be considered for review before the Supreme Court. He has 90 days to submit a request to the high court. A White House spokesperson described Carroll's case as 'liberal lawfare' in a statement sent to CNBC. 'The American People are supporting President Trump in historic numbers, and they demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoaxes, the defense of which the Attorney General has determined is legally required to be taken over by the Department of Justice because Carroll based her false claims on the President's official acts, including statements from the White House,' the spokesperson told the outlet. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
10-07-2025
- Politics
Appeals court overturns right-wing influencer's conviction for spreading 2016 election falsehoods
NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a self-styled right-wing propagandist's conviction for spreading falsehoods on social media in an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in the 2016 presidential election. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal for Douglass Mackey, finding that trial evidence failed to prove the government's claim that the Florida man conspired with others to influence the election. Mackey, 36, was convicted in March 2023 in federal court in Brooklyn on a charge of conspiracy against rights after posting false memes that said supporters of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could vote for her by text message or social media post. He was sentenced to seven months in federal prison. 'HALLELUJAH!' Mackey wrote on X after the 2nd Circuit's decision was posted Wednesday. In follow up messages, he thanked God, his family, wife, lawyers and supporters, and threatened legal action over his conviction. One of Mackey's lawyers on his appeal was Yaakov Roth, who is now principal deputy assistant U.S. attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Civil Division. The federal prosecutors' office in Brooklyn that brought the case declined to comment. In charging Mackey, prosecutors alleged that he conspired with others between September and November of 2016 to post memes, such as a photo of a woman standing in front of an 'African Americans for Hillary' sign. 'Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,' the tweet said. 'Text 'Hillary' to 59925.' About 5,000 people followed the meme's instructions, according to trial testimony. Nearly all of them received an automated response indicating that the social media posts were not associated with the Clinton campaign, and there was 'no evidence at trial that Mackey's tweets tricked anyone into failing properly to vote,' the 2nd Circuit found. Mackey, who had 58,000 followers at the time, posted under the alias Ricky Vaughn, the name of Charlie Sheen's character in the movie 'Major League.' In overturning Mackey's conviction, a three-judge 2nd Circuit panel wrote, 'the mere fact" that he "posted the memes, even assuming that he did so with the intent to injure other citizens in the exercise of their right to vote, is not enough, standing alone, to prove a violation' of the conspiracy law. 'The government was obligated to show that Mackey knowingly entered into an agreement with other people to pursue that objective,' Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston and Judges Reena Raggi and Beth Robinson wrote. 'This the government failed to do.' Livingston and Raggi were appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. Robinson was appointed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat. At Mackey's sentencing, the trial judge, Ann M. Donnelly, said that he had been 'one of the leading members' of a conspiracy that was 'nothing short of an assault on our democracy.' The 2nd Circuit disagreed, ruling that the prosecution's primary evidence of a conspiracy was flimsy at best. At Mackey's trial, prosecutors showed messages exchanged in private Twitter groups that they said proved an intent to interfere with people exercising their right to vote. However, the three-judge panel ruled that prosecutors 'failed to offer sufficient evidence that Mackey even viewed — let alone participated in — any of these exchanges.' 'In the absence of such evidence, the government's remaining circumstantial evidence cannot alone establish Mackey's knowing agreement,' the judges wrote.
The Hill
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Appeals court throws out right-wing influencer's conviction for 2016 election interference
A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out a right-wing influencer's conviction for spreading misinformation online about ways to vote in the 2016 presidential election in an attempt to stifle Democratic turnout. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed Douglass Mackey's conviction and directed a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal, after determining that trial evidence failed to prove he joined others in a conspiracy to influence the election. 'The jury's verdict and the resulting judgment of conviction must be set aside,' Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston wrote for the unanimous panel. Mackey was sentenced to seven months in prison after a jury found him guilty of attempting to trick individuals out of exercising their right to vote by posting memes falsely suggesting that supporters of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could vote by text. In one instance, he posted an image showing a Black woman standing in front of an 'African Americans for Hillary' sign that read: 'Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,' 'Text 'Hillary' to 59925' and 'Vote for Hillary and be a part of history.' It said the post was paid for by Clinton's campaign and included her campaign slogan, '#ImWithHer.' At the time, Mackey had approximately 58,000 followers, according to the Justice Department. Trial evidence showed that approximately 5,000 people ultimately texted the keyword 'Hillary' to the number. However, the appeals court noted, 'about 98 percent' of those people received an automated warning that the code was not associated with the Clinton campaign. The panel said the government presented 'no evidence' at trial that the tweets actually resulted in duping anyone into voting improperly. 'Praise God. God is good. Now we sue,' Mackey wrote in a series of posts on X following the decision. A spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York, which brought the case, declined to comment.
Washington Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Appeals court overturns right-wing influencer's conviction for spreading 2016 election falsehoods
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a self-styled right-wing propagandist's conviction for spreading falsehoods on social media in an effort to suppress Democratic turnout in the 2016 presidential election. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal for Douglass Mackey, finding that trial evidence failed to prove the government's claim that the Florida man conspired with others to influence the election.
