California Love: Newsom Signs Bill Limiting Use Of Rap Lyrics As Evidence In Court Against Artists

deadline.com:

Among the 400 or so bills that California Governor Gavin Newsom either signed or vetoed this week was AB 2799, which provides that courts “must consider specified factors…in determining whether creative expression evidence is more prejudicial than probative.” Newsom signed it into law today at a virtual ceremony attended by Meek Mill, Killer Mike, Too $hort, Ty Dolla $ign, YG, E-40 and Tyga, as well as CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr and the bill’s sponsor Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles.

Dubbed the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, the law seeks to — among other things — address the use of rap lyrics as evidence in trials.

Specifically, it states that the court must weigh the “value of the evidence against the substantial danger of undue prejudice.” CA is the 1st state to ensure creative content – like lyrics & music videos – can't be used against artists in court without judicial review.Thanks, @JonesSawyerAD59 for your work & @yg @KillerMike @tydollasign @Tyga @MeekMill @E40 @TooShort for your dedication to the cause.

pic.twitter.com/cpOSCiHh0X The law also extends those considerations to other mediums, such as TV and film, ordering courts to “Define ‘creative expression’ as the expression or application of creativity or imagination in the production or arrangement of forms, sounds, words, movements, or symbols, including, but not limited to, music, dance, performance art, visual art, poetry, literature, film, and other such objects or media.” According to the BBC, hip-hop lyrics have been leveraged as evidence in 500-plus criminal cases in the U.S.