An interesting legal case just wrapped up and the title of this article pretty much says it all; Afroman wins. It’s an interesting case involving a couple of topics near and dear to my heart, Constitutional Law and the police power of the state.
The quick summary is law enforcement raided Afroman’s home after which he created three songs and accompanying music videos which used footage of the raid. The officers involved sued for defamation and illegal use of their images without consent.
The Full Situation
Police had a warrant to search Afroman’s house for evidence of criminal activity including kidnapping and drug trafficking. The went into his home when he wasn’t there by damaging his external gate, kicking in his front door, and doing significant damage to his home security system to the tune of $20,000.
After a search they took all the cash they could find, $5,000 or $5,400 depending who you believe, and left without any evidence of a crime. They never filed charges and eventually returned $5,000 dollars.
Afroman is a music artist and the best of such make songs about what is going on in their lives. In this case, that’s exactly what he did. Using footage of the raid he wrote three songs and released three videos showing the officers in action.
Afroman Wins the Trial
Before the actual trial, the judge disallowed the charge of using officers’ images without their consent, presumably because they were the ones who entered his house. The other charges of causing the officers humiliation, embarrassment, ridicule, mental distress, and loss of reputation were allowed to go to trial.
The jury returned a verdict fully in favor of Afroman. Afroman wins!
The Cost
One thing about the case that I find intriguing is the cost. How much money did it cost for Afroman to defend himself from these charges? How much did it cost the Ohio county of Adams to prosecute the case? It didn’t cost the police department anything, the taxpayers will foot that bill most certainly.
Conclusion
Freedom wins. Tyranny loses. Huzzah.
So, Afroman repaired $20,000 in damages to his house, had to spend time and money to defend himself from a ludicrous lawsuit, and the title of this blog is Afroman Wins. Well, I guess. Would have been better if the police apologized and paid for the damages but I won’t hold my breath.
Tom Liberman