Marc Randazza

Marc Randazza (November 26, 1969), is a First Amendment attorney, a commentator on CNN and Fox News on legal matters, and the editor of the law blog The Legal Satyricon.

Marc Randazza - the managing partner of the Randazza Legal Group.

Quotes

• The First Amendment does not insulate you from criticism. In fact, that's the First Amendment in action. That is how the marketplace of ideas works. We float our ideas in the marketplace, and we see which idea sells.
  • What happened to Sterling was morally wrong, CNN (April 30, 2014)

• Some credible scholars say that making mass murderers famous motivates other mass murderers. (One might even argue that this article is part of the problem). Elliot Rodger sent his lengthy diatribe to the media before he went on his killing spree -- correctly predicting that his actions would propel his ideas (such as they were) into the marketplace of ideas on a digital billboard larger than he could ever have enjoyed had he not amplified them with his psychotic rampage. Accordingly, should we not silence him? Wipe his words from the Internet forever? Let him be forgotten?
  • Posting Elliot Rodger's video is legal, but is it right?, CNN (May 29, 2014)

• Responsible journalism is hard. It isn't public relations. A responsible journalist digs for the truth, she doesn't just take her subject's agenda and run with it. That isn't journalism, that's "gossip," and like all gossip, it doesn't do anything positive for anyone.
  • Should we always believe the victim?, CNN (December 7, 2014)

• Science tells us that the earth is getting warmer and we are probably doing it. Science tells us that this is bad. Therefore, we want science.
  • Randazza: The March for Science … but was it?, Popehat (April 23, 2017)

• But, the notion of an American citizen going to jail for a nonviolent political protest is utterly antithetical to what this country is all about. It is a disgrace. Officer Coronado is a disgrace for arresting her. The prosecutor is a disgrace for charging her. The jurors are disgraces for convicting her.
  • Jail for laughing protester is an outrage, CNN (May 5, 2017)

• The government should not be in the business of deciding what is moral, immoral or offensive. The section of the trademark act in question in this case is a leftover from Victorian times, and is used now primarily, I would argue, (and have argued) to promote social agendas with coercive censorship. I do not trust any government to tell me what I can and cannot handle. The marketplace of ideas will do that for us.
  • Rock band The Slants' victory in court secures your rights, CNN (June 20, 2017)

• Let us remember that those who kill innocent victims do not do so simply because they wish them dead -- terrorism is about killing a few to strike fear into many. Terrorism is a form of activism coupled with narcissism.
  • The best way to respond to Las Vegas massacre, CNN (October 2, 2017)

• Most might think that in America, you can freely publish what you wish, then (and now) an over-zealous prosecutor can put you on trial simply because the government does not like your art. And, there is no way to know if your content is “obscene” and thus punishable by prison, until after a jury rules that it is so.
  • Randazza: A First Amendment Salute to Hefner, Medium.com (October 2, 2017)

• Speech is presumptively protected. And, while there were decisions at one time that prohibited speech that had the tendency to produce negative results, those were thoroughly wiped away in 1969 in the landmark case, Brandenburg v. Ohio.
  • Randazza: Even Trump has a right to free speech, CNN (November 7, 2017)

Quotes about Marc Randazza

• Marc Randazza frequently offers pro bono help to people threatened with various forms of censorship. I've been co-counsel with him in a couple of such cases, and know that he offers top-notch work combined with frank advice. The real trick with seeking pro bono help from a famous lawyer is that some of them want to resolve the matter in a way that contributes to their fame, whether or not that's best for the client. I've seen, from personal experience, that Randazza advises clients based on their own best interests, not based on what will increase Marc's First Amendment badass fame.
  • Ken White, Marc Randazza: First Amendment Badass, Popehat (March 15, 2012)

• Randazza’s clients have included adult entertainment websites; the 8chan online message board, a popular forum for racist internet trolls; and Mike Cernovich, a right-wing author and attorney who has promoted a conspiracy theory about Democrats running a child-sex slavery ring from a Washington pizza restaurant’s basement.
  • Michael Kunzelman, First Amendment lawyer defending neo-Nazi website publisher, Seattletimes (June 9, 2017)

• So when the current flavor of neo-Nazis (did you think they went away while there’s still tin foil to be had?) was put to the test, who was there to call? Marco. Not because Marco likes Nazis. Not because Marco thinks their conduct swell. But because somebody had to fight for free speech, even for these guys, for the same reason the ACLU did so in 1978.
  • Randazza, Because Somebody Has To, Simplejustice (June 12, 2017)

• Marc Randazza, the managing partner of Randazza Legal Group and a well-known attorney, handles cases related to freedom of speech and intellectual property issues. Randazza has emphasized that government punishment of speech should never be tolerated, yet there are still instances where citizens have been arrested for speech.
  • The First Amendment In Modern America: Based On Randazza’s Opinions, Planet.Infowars.com (October 6, 2017)

• Randazza’s advice for journalism majors is simple: Get a good foundation in First Amendment law. He adds that students in the UMass Journalism Program should consider themselves very fortunate.
  • Alumni Spotlight: Marc Randazza, Umass.edu

• Marc Randazza, the managing partner of the Randazza Legal Group - the Las Vegas based law firm that focuses on the First Amendment, intellectual property, and copyright infringement cases, is representing the defendant. Randazza filed an opposition motion, saying that the plaintiff’s claims are frivolous.
  • Marc Randazza is representing a defendant in a lawsuit involving the “Pedobear” meme, Medium.com

• Our First Amendment and Intellectual property counsel is Marc Randazza and the Randazza Legal Group. Mr Randazza came to our attention when people started referring to him as a "First Amendment Bad Ass". This was a long time ago, when he won his infamous arbitration against Glenn Beck, when Beck tried to shut down a critical website.
  • First Amendment and Intellectual Property Counsel, PissedConsumer.com

External links

• Published works of Marc Randazza
• Marc Randazza on Avvo
• Marc Randazza on Ssrn.com