Amicus briefs have a transparent argumentative and informative objective in authorized proceedings, however depart it to Glengarry Glen Ross author turned Trumper David Mamet to see an ordinary authorized submitting as a publication different.
Mamet’s newest literary work is a two-page quick story titled Classes from Aerial Navigation written inside an amicus transient in assist of a Texas legislation, HB 20, aimed toward prohibiting moderation of conservatives on social media platforms. The legislation was blocked from implementation by a federal choose late final yr, however the case continues to be awaiting a conclusion.
Mamet’s quick story a couple of misplaced pilot attempting to get his bearings is positioned as some type of authorized argument in favor of limiting the First Modification rights of personal social media corporations. After organising his metaphor (the map is the web or Twitter), Mamet removes any doubt about his place.
Navigating requires utilizing instruments accurately. The confused citizen has a map. However, if he labored from his observations again to it, he may uncover that he can’t discover his place pictured there.
Searching he may, for instance, see a free, affluent, and good nation, wherein there was little precise poverty, scant racism, and no “systemic” racism, the place minorities and ladies, slightly than being discriminated in opposition to had been handled preferentially. (This perception could be appropriate or incorrect, however except we desire a Ministry of Fact, the assumption is his personal and certainly he’s entitled to it.)
Referring again, then, to his “data,” the citizen won’t be capable of correlate it along with his observations. He knew the place he was, as he’d simply appeared round. However he discovered no corresponding place on his map.
Even odder, Mamet apparently claimed a copyright on the contents of the transient, a transfer that Techdirt’s Mike Masnick factors out continues to be a debated motion in authorized circles. “The courts appear to say you could in some circumstances, although virtually nobody bothers to register their briefs as a result of, actually, why would you?” Masnick mentioned.
As laughable as it’s perplexing, the probability of Mamet’s quick story argument factoring into the authorized battle is slim to null. With no authorized citations or arguments exterior of his personal skewed view of the connection between the U.S. authorities and social media corporations, this yarn ought to quantity to nothing within the eyes of the courtroom.