BUS 311 Discussion 2, Tort or Crime
Week 1 Discussion 2 - Tort or Crime.
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?
The first amendment protects the right to free speech and is one of the most protected
rights of Americans. As our text states, “freedom of speech includes certain speech or
communication that might seem to be hurtful, particularly when what is being expressed
are opinions or, in this particular case, opinions to lyrics to a copyrighted song”
(Rogers, 2012).
In the Pahler v. Slayer case, the courts ruled out both cases because the lyrics in
Slayer’s songs did not make the three boys murder the young girl even though the lyrics
may have altered their state of mind to commit the crime.
Although the reasoning behind the Pahler v. Slayer case and the Bailey v. Eminem case
are different since one is suing for lyrics causing a murder and another is suing for lyrics
resulting in defamation, the reasoning behind the rulings are the same.
2) Should the court’s decision in Pahler be different because a young girl was
murdered? Unfortunately, no because despite the degree of the crime, the Slayer band
is still protected under the first amendment rights. The person who killed the young girl
should be the one held responsible and punished by our court system to the fullest
degree for taking the life of another human being.
In our society today, especially today’s time, we are surrounded by violence within our
social media, not only in movies, but songs, video games, Xbox, and play station games.
But the one thing we all must remember, we all have a personal responsibility to abide
by the law and if we don’t then we all have consequences, regardless of any outside
influence.
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.
It states in our text that a crime is an action or omission that constitutes an offense that
may be prosecuted by the state and punishable by law and is a violation of public duty. A
tort is a wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to
civil legal liability and is a violation of private duty (Rogers, 2012, Chapter 2).
In my opinion, the court made the right decision in the Pahler v. Slayer case because
Slayer was not responsible for the murder of the young girl and was simply using their
Week 1 Discussion 2 - Tort or Crime.
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?
The first amendment protects the right to free speech and is one of the most protected
rights of Americans. As our text states, “freedom of speech includes certain speech or
communication that might seem to be hurtful, particularly when what is being expressed
are opinions or, in this particular case, opinions to lyrics to a copyrighted song”
(Rogers, 2012).
In the Pahler v. Slayer case, the courts ruled out both cases because the lyrics in
Slayer’s songs did not make the three boys murder the young girl even though the lyrics
may have altered their state of mind to commit the crime.
Although the reasoning behind the Pahler v. Slayer case and the Bailey v. Eminem case
are different since one is suing for lyrics causing a murder and another is suing for lyrics
resulting in defamation, the reasoning behind the rulings are the same.
2) Should the court’s decision in Pahler be different because a young girl was
murdered? Unfortunately, no because despite the degree of the crime, the Slayer band
is still protected under the first amendment rights. The person who killed the young girl
should be the one held responsible and punished by our court system to the fullest
degree for taking the life of another human being.
In our society today, especially today’s time, we are surrounded by violence within our
social media, not only in movies, but songs, video games, Xbox, and play station games.
But the one thing we all must remember, we all have a personal responsibility to abide
by the law and if we don’t then we all have consequences, regardless of any outside
influence.
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.
It states in our text that a crime is an action or omission that constitutes an offense that
may be prosecuted by the state and punishable by law and is a violation of public duty. A
tort is a wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to
civil legal liability and is a violation of private duty (Rogers, 2012, Chapter 2).
In my opinion, the court made the right decision in the Pahler v. Slayer case because
Slayer was not responsible for the murder of the young girl and was simply using their
