Marc Randazza

Marc J. Randazza (born November 26, 1969) is an American First Amendment attorney and a commentator on Infowars and CNN on legal matters.

Marc J. Randazza
Born
Marc John Randazza

(1969-11-26) November 26, 1969
Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
NationalityAmerican and Italian (dual nationality)
Alma materUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst (Journalism, 1994)
Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 2000)
University of Florida (M.A., Mass Communication, 2003)
OccupationFirst Amendment Attorney
Websitehttp://randazza.com/

Early life and education

Randazza was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He graduated from Gloucester High School in 1987. Randazza attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he majored in journalism.[1] Randazza worked as a journalist and in advertising in Washington, D.C., Palermo, Rome, New York City, and Miami.[2] In 1996, Randazza was inspired to attend law school by the film The People vs. Larry Flynt. He attended Georgetown University Law Center and graduated in 2000. During law school, he interned for Denise Johnson of the Vermont Supreme Court. He continued his First Amendment education by attending the University of Florida, where he earned a master's degree in communications, writing his thesis on vote pairing, which was cited by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.[3]

Career

Randazza is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts (2002), Florida (2003), California (2010), Arizona (2010), and Nevada (2012).[4] Randazza's first case was representing a fraternity at Boston University when the brothers of that fraternity were accused of destroying their house and other misconduct. He then began practicing in Florida as a real estate attorney. He quickly returned to the First Amendment and media field, taking on representation of an adult bookstore in Fort Myers, Florida. Soon thereafter, he moved to Orlando, Florida where his practice in First Amendment and media law expanded. He started representing defendants in SLAPP suits,[5] pornography businesses, protestors, in often unpopular constitutional law matters.

In 2004, his University of Florida thesis gained attention as vote pairing became a minor issue during the 2004 election. Randazza was asked to debate the issue on Fox News, and thereafter has been a frequent legal commentator on television and in print. Randazza served as a professor of law at Barry University School of Law, located in Orlando, Florida.[6][7] where he taught First Amendment law, copyright law, trademark law, and entertainment law.

Randazza has a practice that primarily focuses on the areas of First Amendment litigation, adult entertainment, trademark and copyright litigation, and domain name arbitration disputes.[8] He has represented a number of well-known adult entertainment companies including Kink.com, Bang Bus, and Milf Hunter. He also represents media businesses such as BME and bloggers in SLAPP suits.[9][10]

Representing Neo-Nazis and alt-right figures

Randazza represents multiple far-right figures, including conspiracy theorists Alex Jones, Mike Cernovich, and Chuck Johnson; and neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin.[11][12][13] Randazza defended a participant in the planning of the violent Unite the Right rally who used the pseudonym "Kristall.night" (cf. Kristallnacht). Kristall.night claimed that a federal subpoena against the app Discord following the deadly rally would reveal her identity and expose her to potential harm through doxing.[14]

Randazza has defended Anglin in a lawsuit filed by a Jewish realtor in Whitefish, Montana, whom Anglin had published the name and address of on his neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer. Randazza had argued that Anglin was not responsible for the subsequent harassment and death threats the woman received, as the personal information was protected as free speech. This claim was rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Dana L. Christensen, who noted that Anglin was actively encouraging and participating in the plaintiff's harassment, and that calls to violence against a private individual are not protected speech.[15][16]

Representing InfoWars

Randazza was set to represent Alex Jones, the founder of InfoWars, in a Connecticut Superior Court case in 2018 after the infamous conspiracy theorist was sued by six families of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. However, when Randazza filed a pro hac vice application to be added to the Sandy Hook case as an out-of-state lawyer, the judge denied it, citing "serious misconduct."

This action caused Randazza to be fired by Jones, who said he would have to "choose new counsel untainted by the claims of misconduct.”[17]

Multiple state bar disciplinary proceedings

The State Bar of Nevada charged Randazza with alleged violations of Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct 1.4 (Communication), 1.7 (Conflict of Interest: Current Clients), 1.8 (Conflict of Interest: Current Clients: Specific Rules), 1.10 (Imputation of Conflicts of Interest), 1.15 (Safekeeping Property), 1.16 (Declining or Terminating Representation), 2.1 (Advisor), 5.6 (Restrictions on Right to Practice), and 8.4 (Misconduct).[18][19] On July 23, 2018, an automatic appeal was filed with the Nevada Supreme Court regarding a guilty plea and disciplinary recommendation made by the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Panel. The Disciplinary Panel had recommended a one-year suspension, stayed for 18 months, with the requirement that he avoid subsequent ethics complaints for the 18 months following entry of the order, complete 20 hours of CLE classes, and pay the costs associated with the proceedings within 30 days.[20] The plea and disciplinary recommendation were only for the violations of Rules 1.8 and 5.6; the remaining charges were dismissed.[20]

In October 2018, Randazza was disciplined and the recommendation of the Disciplinary Panel was upheld by the Supreme Court of Nevada.[20] The Nevada suspension was not put into effect.[21]

On January 14, 2019, the Arizona State Bar issued a public reprimand and a suspension based upon some of the misconduct that took place in Nevada.[22] A new disciplinary case was opened in Arizona and California based upon further information and documentation of alleged misconduct by Randazza, to include allegedly lying in court documents related to the Alex Jones case in Connecticut.[23] However, beyond the reciprocal disciplinary proceedings, Randazza was not charged with any new violations and the Arizona suspension was not put into effect.[24]

On May 2, 2019, in the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, in a state bar disciplinary proceeding styled In re: Mark John Randazza, Case No. BD-2018-110, a hearing was conducted, which included an additional alleged ethical violation that the bar counsel claimed the State Bar of Nevada ignored.[25] The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court did not find this additional ethical violation existed and issued a stayed suspension of the same term as Nevada.[21] The Florida Supreme Court conducted a similar reciprocal disciplinary proceeding; it found no aggravating factors, with the Referee finding that there was "no clear and convincing evidence to suggest that anything [Randazza] may have done on behalf of his other clients was actually adverse to" his complaining clients.[21] Thus, Randazza was given a reprimand and one year probation in Florida.[26]

Adult entertainment law

Randazza has gained attention for handling high-profile First Amendment cases and for his defense of the adult entertainment field.[27] Randazza was named one of the Top 50 newsmakers of the adult entertainment industry by XBIZ World Magazine for the year 2011.[28]

Anti-SLAPP

He has represented the defendant in Beck v. Eiland-Hall, a case before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) filed by political commentator Glenn Beck, concerning a satire website parodying Beck.[29][30] The WIPO arbitrator ruled against Beck in the case, and in favor of Randazza's client.[31]

In late 2011, Randazza and his firm effectively killed Righthaven, a "copyright troll" company briefly infamous for buying limited rights to copyrighted works for the sole purpose of bringing lawsuits against alleged infringers.[32][33] On May 9, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the lower court's decision dismissing the case for lack of standing.[34] Righthaven complained of what it called Randazza's "scorched earth judgment enforcement efforts" in its legal filings.[35]

In 2013, Randazza lobbied the Nevada legislature to update Nevada's Anti-SLAPP statute.[36][37]

On June 8, 2015, Governor Sandoval signed Nevada Senate bill 444,[38] which in its initial form, stood to largely repeal the Nevada Anti-SLAPP law.[39] The initial form of the law was backed by casino mogul, Steve Wynn. Randazza lobbied to keep the statute in its speech-protective form.[40]

Arbitration proceedings

On June 3, 2015, there was an interim arbitration award against Randazza involving Liberty Media Holdings LLC, for whom Randazza had been General Counsel from 2009 to 2012. The Ars Technica article[41] on that case referenced a statement from Randazza's arbitration attorney to the Law Society of Upper Canada calling the arbitrator's neutrality into question. The arbitration dispute arose following Randazza's departure from Liberty and his filing of employment claims against them. Liberty's counterclaims against Randazza in the arbitration focused on allegations Randazza had negotiated bribes from opposing parties in copyright litigation, engaged in conflicts of interest, destroyed evidence, unjustly enriched himself, and committed other breaches of fiduciary duty. Following two and a half years of arbitration proceedings, the arbitrator issued an interim award in favor of Liberty and against Randazza on all claims.[42] Following his arbitration loss, Randazza filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The arbitration was ultimately vacated in its entirety, by agreement, after a court refused to confirm the arbitration award.[21]

Klingon language

On April 27, 2016, Randazza filed a friend of the court brief in the lawsuit by Paramount Pictures and CBS against Axanar Productions on behalf of the Language Creation Society. The lawsuit concerned a 21-minute fan-made short film, Prelude to Axanar. Paramount Pictures and CBS claimed, among other things, that the film infringed their rights by making use of the Klingon language.[43][44][45] Randazza argued that Klingon is a living language,[46] and, as such, is a "state of mind"[47]—a system or process, which cannot be copyrighted, unlike a work.[48] Randazza contended that since Klingon was invented in the 1980s, the language has expanded past its origins, pointing to examples like dictionaries,[49] translations of Shakespeare, the Klingon Language Institute,[50] official government statements, a wedding conducted in Klingon, and translation service available through Bing.[51] To support its point,[48][52] portions of the brief were written in Klingon, employing the Klingon alphabet.[51][53]

Response to the brief was generally positive. Attorney and blogger Kevin Underhill called it "a terrific brief",[54] and Attorney Ken White of Popehat wrote that "Marc continues to demonstrate that legal writing can be entertaining, irreverent, and persuasive at the same time."[55] In an article on the blog Mental Floss, Linguist Arika Okrent particularly praised the incorporation of the Klingon language into arguments.[56] Ethan Chiel of Fusion called the brief "a joy to read" and remarked that it was "wonderful to see what is essentially (very serious) fun being had in demonstrating a point in a legal proceeding."[49]

About three weeks after the brief was filed, in an interview on May 20, 2016, J. J. Abrams said that Paramount would drop the lawsuit "within the next few weeks."[57][58] Abrams further stated that he pushed the studio to stop the lawsuit because "we realized this is not the appropriate way to deal with the fans."[57][59]

The Satanic Temple

In May 2018 The Satanic Temple (TST) sued Twitter for religious discrimination with pro bono support from Randazza. In August, the Los Angeles chapter of TST disaffiliated in protest, calling Randazza a "Twitter troll and an agent of the alt-right."[60][61][62]

Other

Randazza has handled a number of "cameras in the courtroom" cases, defending the rights of the news media to attend and televise courtroom proceedings. Most notably, Randazza successfully argued this issue against Alan Dershowitz. In that case, Randazza represented Courtroom View Network in its quest to televise a highly publicized trial in Las Vegas involving the Las Vegas Sands.[63]

In July 2012, VegasInc and Avvo.com named Randazza one of Las Vegas' Top Lawyers.

On Oct. 1, 2014, Randazza was named by Desert Companion Magazine to its top lawyers in Southern Nevada list.[64]

Bibliography

References
  1. "Marc Randazza". University of Massachusetts Department of Journalism Alumni Spotlight. umass.edu. January 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  2. Randazza, Marc (2002). "Getting to yes with terrorists" (2002 L. Rev. M.S.U.-D.C.L. 823). Michigan State University Law Review. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  3. Porter v. Bowen, 496 F.3d 1009 (9th Cir. 2007)
  4. "Lawyer Marc Randazza - Las Vegas, NV Attorney". avvo.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  5. Billmann, Jeffrey C. (August 9, 2007). "SLAPP Happy: One man's free speech is another's slander". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  6. Robbins, Mary Alice (August 18, 2008). "Yale Defamation Lawsuit Becomes a Case of Mistaken Identity for Texas Attorney". Texas Lawyer. Law.com. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  7. Hudson Jr., David L. (August 1, 2008). "3rd Circuit won't create new category of unprotected speech". First Amendment Center. www.firstamendmentcenter.org. Archived from the original on 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  8. Randazza, Marc (October 2009). "Randazza Attorney CV" Check |url= value (help) (PDF). randazza.files.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  9. "Veranda Partners v. Giles (Lawsuit)". Citizen Media Law Project. www.citmedialaw.org. September 10, 2007. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  10. "Internet Solutions v. Marshall". Citizen Media Law Project. www.citmedialaw.org. November 3, 2007. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  11. Williamson, Elizabeth (2 July 2018). "Lawyers for Neo-Nazi to Defend Alex Jones in Sandy Hook Case". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  12. Weill, Kelly (12 June 2018). "The Lawyer Fighting for the Fringes, From Porn to Neo-Nazis". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  13. Palmer, Ewan (3 July 2018). "Alex Jones hires lawyer also representing neo-Nazi for Sandy Hook defamation lawsuits". Newsweek. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  14. Flynn, Meagan (7 August 2018). "Subpoena for app called 'Discord' could unmask identities of Charlottesville white supremacists". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  15. O'Brien, Luke (15 November 2018). "Montana Judge: Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin Can't Hide Behind First Amendment". Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  16. Zraick, Karen (15 November 2018). "Neo-Nazi Harassment Not Protected by First Amendment, Judge Rules". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  17. O'Brien, Luke (2019-03-20). "Connecticut Judge: Attorney Marc Randazza Is Too Unethical To Represent Alex Jones". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  18. "76453: Case View". caseinfo.nvsupremecourt.us. Retrieved Dec 28, 2020.
  19. LIVE, PNT (Oct 15, 2018). "lawyer Marc Randazza of Randazza Legal Group and InfoWars has had his law license SUSPENDED in Nevada". Retrieved Dec 28, 2020.
  20. https://www.nvbar.org/wp-content/uploads/Randazza.pdf
  21. https://efactssc-public.flcourts.org/casedocuments/2019/188/2019-188_miscdoc_363155_f01.pdf
  22. "Marc Randazza | NV, Attorney". azbar.legalserviceslink.com. Retrieved Dec 28, 2020.
  23. O'Brien, Luke (Dec 27, 2018). "Alex Jones' Lawyer Violated Legal Ethics By Soliciting Porn Bribes. Just How Dirty Is Marc Randazza?". HuffPost. Retrieved Dec 28, 2020.
  24. https://web.flsd.uscourts.gov/uploads/adminOrders/2020/2020-29.pdf
  25. O'Brien, Luke (Apr 25, 2019). "Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin's Lawyers Want To Ditch Him In High-Profile Harassment Case". HuffPost. Retrieved Dec 28, 2020.
  26. https://efactssc-public.flcourts.org/casedocuments/2019/188/2019-188_disposition_150449_d39e.pdf
  27. Billman, Jeffrey C. (June 7, 2007). "The F Bomb: A local lawyer teams up with a California porn king to fight for your right to trademark dirty words". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  28. "XBIZ World Magazine Names Top 50 Industry Newsmakers of 2011". xbiz.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  29. Citizen Media Law Project staff (2009-09-28). "Beck v. Eiland-Hall". Citizen Media Law Project. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  30. Sawyer, Rick (October 1, 2009). "Today in Randazza's Zings: Glenn Beck, Why Do You Hate America?". Bostonist. Gothamist. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  31. Bayard, Sam (November 6, 2009). "Glenn Beck's UDRP Complaint Gets The Smack Down". Citizen Media Law Project. www.citmedialaw.org. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  32. Green, Steve (December 13, 2011). "Can Righthaven survive latest legal blow?". Las Vegas Sun. www.lasvegassun.com. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  33. Bright, Arthur (March 15, 2012). "Righthaven is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker!". Citizen Media Law Project. www.citmedialaw.org. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  34. "Righthaven v. Hoehn" (PDF). Retrieved Dec 28, 2020.
  35. "Righthaven complains about 'scorched-earth' efforts to enforce judgments". VegasInc.com. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  36. Hermes, Jeff (June 28, 2013). "Congratulations to Nevada on its New and Improved Anti-SLAPP Law!". Digital Media Law. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  37. Totten, Kristy (July 3, 2013). "Free speech just got freer in Nevada". Las Vegas Citylife. Archived from the original on 2013-07-08. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
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  40. SEAN WHALEY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU. "Free speech advocates oppose bill to weaken Nevada's SLAPP law". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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  42. Pardon, Rhett (July 14, 2015). "Corbin Fisher Awarded 600K". XBIZ. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  43. Fung, Brian (April 29, 2016). "Behold, a legal brief written in Klingon". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  44. Gardner, Eriq (December 30, 2015). "Crowdfunded 'Star Trek' Movie Draws Lawsuit from Paramount, CBS". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  45. Adam, Russell (May 6, 2016). "Star Trek Debate: Does Paramount own the Klingon language?". Red Shirts Always Die. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  46. Krayewski, Ed (May 6, 2016). "Paramount Objects to Klingon Language Amicus Brief by Language Creation Society". Reason. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  47. Yuhas, Alan (April 30, 2016). "Who owns Klingon? Lawsuit draws battle over invented languages into court". The Guardian. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  48. Goyette, Jared; Porzucki, Nina (May 6, 2016). "Why a lawyer wrote a legal brief partially in Klingon". Public Radio International. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  49. Chiel, Ethan (April 28, 2016). "This Amicus brief written partially in Klingon is the nerdiest legal document you'll read today". Fusion. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  50. "Is Klingon A Living Language? That's For (Human) Courts To Decide". National Public Radio. May 8, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  51. Gardner, Eriq (April 28, 2016). "'Star Trek' Lawsuit: The Debate Over Klingon Language Heats Up". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  52. McCarthy, Kieran (May 29, 2016). "Your mother has a smooth forehead, Klingon language lovers roar at Paramount". The Register. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  53. Krayewski, Ed (April 28, 2016). "Paramount Copyright Claim on Klingon Language Challenged in Klingon Language". Reason. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  54. Underhill, Kevin (May 2, 2016). "Brief Argues Klingon Language Can't Be Copyrighted". Lowering the Bar. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  55. White, Ken (April 28, 2016). "Marc Randazza Wrote An Amicus Brief About Klingon, And It's Magnificent". Popehat. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  56. Okrent, Arika (May 2, 2016). "The 9 Best Parts of a Legal Brief on Behalf of Klingon Speakers". Mental Floss. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  57. "JJ Abrams Says 'Star Trek: Axanar' Lawsuit Is Ending". TrekNews.net. May 21, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  58. Geuss, Megan (May 22, 2016). "Beating studios to the punch, J.J. Abrams says Axanar suit will be "going away"". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  59. Fuster, Jeremy (May 20, 2016). "J.J. Abrams Says Paramount Will Drop Lawsuit Against 'Star Trek' Fan Film". The Wrap. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  60. Burton, Tara Isabella (9 August 2018). "The Satanic Temple is divided over its leader's decision to hire Alex Jones's lawyer". Vox. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  61. Merlan, Anna (7 August 2018). "The Satanic Temple Is Engulfed in a Civil War Over a Decision to Hire an Attorney With a Stable of Alt-Right Clients". Jezebel. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  62. Aggeler, Madeleine. "A Guide to All the Drama Roiling the Satanic Community". The Cut. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  63. Johnson, Bob (4 Apr 2013). "Adult Industry Attorney Marc Randazza Bests Dershowitz, Wins Right to Broadcast Trial". XBiz NewsWire. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  64. "Top Lawyers 2014: Government - Workers Compensation". Nevada Public Radio. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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