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Justice Roberts: "'Dada make a nice bed for mommy at the bottom of the lake, tie a rope around a rock'—this is during the context of a domestic dispute between a husband and wife. 'There goes mama splashing in the water, no more fighting with dad,' you know, all that stuff. Now, under your test, could that be prosecuted?"
Deputy Dreeben: "No, because if you look at the context of these statements."
Roberts: "Because Eminem said it instead of somebody else?"
Dreeben: "Because Eminem said it at a concert where people are going to be entertained. This is a critical part of the context. It wasn't as if he stated it to her in private or on a Facebook page after having received a protection from abuse order."
Chief Justice Samples Eminem in Online Threats Case
WASHINGTON — As the Supreme Court on Monday tried to puzzle out what threats may be prosecuted as crimes, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. cited an unlikely source: the rapper Eminem.
Treading gingerly, the chief justice quoted vivid lyrics from “ ’97 Bonnie and Clyde,” in which Eminem seems to threaten to drown his wife.
“Could that be prosecuted?” Chief Justice Roberts asked Michael R. Dreeben, a government lawyer.
Mr. Dreeben said no and started to say something about context. Chief Justice Roberts interrupted.
“Because Eminem said it instead of somebody else?” he asked.
The case before the justices also involved threatening rap lyrics arising from domestic troubles. They were posted on Facebook by Anthony Elonis, a Pennsylvania man who had adopted the rap persona Tone Dougie. The posts, long tirades in the form of rap lyrics, were punctuated by brutally violent language, most of it directed against his estranged wife.
He wrote that he would like to see a Halloween costume that included his wife’s “head on a stick.” He talked about “making a name for myself” with a school shooting, saying, “Hell hath no fury like a crazy man in a kindergarten class.” He fantasized about killing an F.B.I. agent.
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Would a song or FB post about a US official be treated the same?
Deputy Dreeben: "No, because if you look at the context of these statements."
Roberts: "Because Eminem said it instead of somebody else?"
Dreeben: "Because Eminem said it at a concert where people are going to be entertained. This is a critical part of the context. It wasn't as if he stated it to her in private or on a Facebook page after having received a protection from abuse order."
Chief Justice Samples Eminem in Online Threats Case
WASHINGTON — As the Supreme Court on Monday tried to puzzle out what threats may be prosecuted as crimes, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. cited an unlikely source: the rapper Eminem.
Treading gingerly, the chief justice quoted vivid lyrics from “ ’97 Bonnie and Clyde,” in which Eminem seems to threaten to drown his wife.
“Could that be prosecuted?” Chief Justice Roberts asked Michael R. Dreeben, a government lawyer.
Mr. Dreeben said no and started to say something about context. Chief Justice Roberts interrupted.
“Because Eminem said it instead of somebody else?” he asked.
The case before the justices also involved threatening rap lyrics arising from domestic troubles. They were posted on Facebook by Anthony Elonis, a Pennsylvania man who had adopted the rap persona Tone Dougie. The posts, long tirades in the form of rap lyrics, were punctuated by brutally violent language, most of it directed against his estranged wife.
He wrote that he would like to see a Halloween costume that included his wife’s “head on a stick.” He talked about “making a name for myself” with a school shooting, saying, “Hell hath no fury like a crazy man in a kindergarten class.” He fantasized about killing an F.B.I. agent.
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Would a song or FB post about a US official be treated the same?
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