Tort or Crime: Pahler v Slayer Case
Tort or Crime: Pahler v Slayer Case
In Chapter 1 of the text you read about the Bailey v. Eminem defamation case where the court held Eminem’s lyrics were protected by the First Amendment. Read the article and view the video (the links are listed under Week 1 Additional Learning Resources Required and Week 1 Multimedia Required) to the Pahler v. Slayer case. Respond to the following questions:
1. Did the Pahler court use the same reasoning as used in Bailey v. Eminem?
2. Should the court’s decision in Pahler be different because a young girl was murdered?
3. Recall the difference between a crime and a tort. Based on these two cases, analyze and discuss whether artists should be held liable for the actions of their fans.
Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’’ postings. Do you agree with their analysis? Discuss with at least two of your classmates’ the ethical issues raised in this case and if you think the courts’ decisions in both Bailey and Pahler were correct.
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. Tort or Crime: Pahler v Slayer Case.
ADDITIONAL INFO
Pahler v Slayer Case
Band members Jeff Hanneman, Kerry King and Tom Araya were sued by the Pahlers for wrongful death on Sept. 3, 1997 for $5 million in damages.
The Pahlers sued the band after their son Matthew died from alcohol poisoning at a Slayer concert in San Francisco in 1991. The lawsuit alleged that Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King were negligent in their security guards’ handling of the event, and that Tom Araya failed to stop his onstage theatrics before he drank too much alcohol backstage.
The Pahlers won a $1 million verdict against Slayer but were later denied full compensation because they failed to prove negligence on behalf of Jeff Hanneman or Kerry King, who had been acquitted by an arbitrator following trial proceedings against them.[30]
The suit was filed in April 24, 1996 in Orange County Superior Court.
The suit was filed in April 24, 1996 in Orange County Superior Court. It was filed by the Pahlers against Slayer and Gene Simmons, who were listed as defendants.
The court case had a pre-trial hearing in 2002 with a defence motion to have the case dismissed
The court case had a pre-trial hearing in 2002 with a defence motion to have the case dismissed. The judge ruled that Slayer could be sued for wrongful death, but ruled that they could not be sued for negligence. In other words, you cannot sue them if they were not negligent in any way or form during their performance of these songs and lyrics.
Judge Dzintra Janavs ruled the case would go to trial on July 15, 2003
In 2003, Judge Dzintra Janavs ruled that the Pahlers’ case would go to trial on July 15, 2003.
The ruling stated that Slayer could not be held liable for the death because they did not cause it directly. Additionally, she determined that Slayer’s lyrics were protected speech under the First Amendment and therefore could not be held liable under tort law.
Slayer sought to have the case dismissed but that was denied.
The court ruled that the case would go to trial. In 2003, Slayer sought to have the case dismissed but that was denied.
Then in 2004, Slayer and Pahler settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
Slayer was sued successfully.
Slayer was sued successfully. The jury found Slayer guilty of wrongful death, not guilty of wrongful death, but it did find that the band was negligent in their care for Pahler.
Slayer were also found not guilty of battery against Pahler. However, they were found guilty on negligence charges related to failing to get medical attention for Pahler when he got sick from eating raw meat and drinking alcohol during a show at a bar called “The Underground”.
Conclusion
The band was successful in having the case dismissed, but Judge Dzintra Janavs ruled that there was enough evidence to let it proceed. Slayer appealed this decision and lost again on Oct. 22, 2003. The band then decided to settle out of court with the Pahlers before any further legal proceedings could begin against them