Kaplan's overt prejudice from day one surely diminished
respect for federal justice. I had not seen such behavior
before in New York. And when the prejudice was flaunted
increasingly during trial it occurred to me that he was
diabolically aiming to show just how biased the DMCA
is toward the copyright industry. A kind of reverse or
rather perverse judgmentalism to send a message to
Congress and its lobbyists that they could not get away
with racketeer influenced organized crime, not on his
watch.
But perhaps, I now think, I was being too understanding
of Kaplan, too forgiving of his one-sided behavior. For it
is possible, I tell myself, that Kaplan was showing a modern
face of old time corrupt justice, that the fix was in from day
one. That would also account for his implacable opposition
to the defense, the lackadaisical presentations of the
plaintiffs, his repeated rulings in favor of the plaintiffs, the
personal attacks on Garbus by Kaplan during trial, Kaplan's
rudeness toward Robin Gross and Allonn Levy at the PI
hearing, and the contempt he displays in his decision
for the defendants and disparagement of supporters.
Kaplan blatantly uses the DMCA to cloak his foregone
conclusions as in days of old judges quoted the law to
justify criminality of those in power to hold maintain their
power.
Running a court across the street from Little Italy may not be
grounds for associating Kaplan with organized crime, but his
decision speaks to me for such a tie with the copyright industry
and its Congressional supporters being foregone.
Yes, hatred of prejudice in such corrupt judges, and contempt
for their courts, is right and just.
At 01:57 PM 8/17/00 -0400, you wrote:
>I hate Judge Kaplan.
>
>Eric Grimm
