1 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Law with June Grosseo from Bloomberg Radio. 2 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 2: I just know that on a daylight today that redemption 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 2: is possible. 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 3: Nearly thirty years after there were sentenced to life in 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 3: prison without the possibility of parole for the cold blooded 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,480 Speaker 3: murders of their parents, a remarkable turn for Eric and 7 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 3: Lyle Menendez. They now have a chance of getting out 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 3: of prison. Family members have supported the brothers throughout the years, 9 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 3: and they were in court to testify for them at 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 3: a re sentencing hearing on Tuesday. 11 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 4: They are truly deeply sorry for what they did, and 12 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 4: they are profoundly remorseful. They are filled with remorse over 13 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 4: what they did, and through that they have become pretty 14 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 4: remarkable with people. 15 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,279 Speaker 5: This is something my grandmother, Joan has fought for or 16 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 5: for thirty five years. I really wish she was here today, 17 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,639 Speaker 5: but I'm really excited to give her the news. 18 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 3: The new LA District Attorney Nathan Hafckman had attempted to 19 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 3: block the resentencing at every turn, arguing repeatedly that Eric 20 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 3: and Lyle had not taken complete responsibility for their crimes 21 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 3: and didn't show true remorse in. 22 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: Order to be truly rehabilitated. 23 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 6: You have to acknowledge the full breath of your criminal conduct, 24 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 6: your cover up, and your life. 25 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 3: But Lyle told the judge, I take full responsibility. I 26 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,040 Speaker 3: killed my parents. I offer no excuse and I don't 27 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 3: blame my parents. Eric said, I have profound sorrow for 28 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 3: the tragedy I created. I took the lives of my 29 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 3: mom and dad. My actions were criminal, cruel, and cowardly. 30 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 3: After their statements, Judge Michael Jessic reduced their sentences from 31 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,639 Speaker 3: life in prison without parole to fifty years to life, 32 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 3: making them immediately eligible for parole. But there's still a 33 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 3: long road ahead that goes through the parole board and 34 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 3: the governor. My guest is Dave Ahrenberg, former Palm Beach 35 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 3: County State Attorney and managing partner. 36 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: At Dave Ehrenberg Law. 37 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 3: Dave, let's talk about what this resentencing hearing was and 38 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 3: what it wasn't. It wasn't about re litigating the murders, 39 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 3: but it was about whether the brothers have been rehabilitated. 40 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 2: This hearing was surely for the judge to decide whether 41 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,799 Speaker 2: or not the Menendez brothers can be resentenced, and he 42 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 2: heard testimony from family members and decided that in the 43 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 2: interest of justice, that Menanda's brothers would be resentenced under 44 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 2: the rules of the time, which permitted someone who committed 45 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 2: such a horrific offense who's under the age of twenty 46 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 2: six to be eligible for parole. At the time, they 47 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,839 Speaker 2: were sentenced to life in prison without parole. But now 48 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 2: they're changing it to with pearol and now the Menendez 49 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 2: brothers can go before the parole board. 50 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 7: To let him out. 51 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:11,799 Speaker 3: Early Nathan Hawkman, the LA District Attorney, opposed to resentencing 52 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 3: and attempted to block it in every way he could. 53 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 1: Why was he so opposed to it? 54 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 2: He ran on a law and ordered platform and he 55 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 2: got elected to be tougher on crime as opposed to 56 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,399 Speaker 2: the predecessor, Gassone, who was seen as one of those 57 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 2: Soro's reform prosecutors. So this is in line with Takman's 58 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 2: brand to be tough on crime. And he represented what 59 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 2: I considered like pres the silent majority, not the celebrities 60 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 2: who came out and masked to support the Menendez brothers, 61 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 2: but people who said, I remember this horrific crime and 62 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 2: they were sentence a life in prison to get life 63 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 2: in prison and that didn't mean thirty five years in prison. 64 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 3: The testimony was from family members about how they have 65 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 3: rehabilitated themselves in prison. 66 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 2: Members were the biggest supporters of an early release. Now 67 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 2: all the family members but seemingly one who passed away, 68 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 2: wanted them out early. But the district attorney does not 69 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 2: represent the victims, does not represent the family members. They 70 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 2: represent the people. That's why it's usually the people versus 71 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 2: Menendez or the state versus Menendez. And in this case, 72 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 2: the decision of the district attorney was that it is 73 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 2: in the interest of the people of California that the 74 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 2: Menendez brothers stay behind bars. 75 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:35,280 Speaker 3: They've been described as model prisoners who helped other prisoners 76 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 3: by setting up programs. Were they ever accused of violence 77 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 3: or other infractions. 78 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 2: Well, there was a report that showed that they did 79 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 2: have contraband inside the prison, which was cell phone and 80 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 2: potential drugs. That's part of a report. And whether or 81 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,479 Speaker 2: not that means they have not been reformed. Well, when 82 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 2: it comes to violence, they clearly did not to commit 83 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 2: anything like that in prison. They were different people behind bars. 84 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 2: They helped others, But yet there are a lot of 85 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:11,239 Speaker 2: people who find God behind bars. And they help others 86 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 2: and they don't get released early from a life sentence. 87 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 2: So it seems that the celebrity in this case, the 88 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 2: power of celebrity made a real difference. 89 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 3: I wonder if this would have happened if you hadn't 90 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 3: had that Netflix documentary that sort of introduced a whole 91 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 3: new generation to the Menendez brothers in a sympathetic way. 92 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 2: I agree the power of streaming, the power of celebrity. 93 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 2: I think the Menendez brothers became a cause celeb and 94 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 2: as a result, they got some benefits from it. They 95 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 2: got all this worldwide attention, They had the best lawyers 96 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 2: possible for them, and they were able to convince the 97 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 2: district attorney to side with them to get a resentencing. 98 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 2: And then that district attorney lost the election, but the 99 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 2: judge went ahead with it anyways, And now it's up 100 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,920 Speaker 2: to the pearle board and the governor, and I think 101 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 2: they will be let out early. I don't think there 102 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,360 Speaker 2: are any risk of reoffending any violent crime. I think 103 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 2: they did give reform behind prison walls. But on the 104 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 2: other hand, how many other people in their situation get 105 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 2: this benefit, get sentence to life in prison and they 106 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 2: get out early because they were good prisoners, not many, 107 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 2: but this case was treated differently because of the celebrity involved, 108 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 2: because of the notoriety, and that's the issue I have. 109 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 2: I just don't think they were treated like everyone else. 110 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 3: But in their second trial, the judge limited the testimony 111 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,479 Speaker 3: about the allegations of abuse, and it's possible the jury 112 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 3: would have come out with a verdict of manslaughter instead 113 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 3: of murder if the abuse allegations had gotten a full hearing. 114 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,160 Speaker 2: Well, that was a judge's determination at the time, and 115 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 2: the crimes were not overturned on appeal. I mean, the 116 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 2: proper venue if you think that the judge made a 117 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 2: bad decision is to appeal it. But the appellate courts 118 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 2: did not agree, thought that they got a fair trial. 119 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 2: And as far as being led out, the real reason 120 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 2: why they're being led out of at least according to 121 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 2: the pres was because of their good behavior behind bars. 122 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 3: The DA Hawkman had complained over and over that they 123 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 3: hadn't taken responsibility for the crimes, but both brothers made 124 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 3: these remarkable statements accepting full responsibility for the murders. 125 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: Lyle said that all the choices. 126 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 3: He made were his own, including quote the choice to reload, 127 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 3: returned to the den and run up to my mother 128 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 3: and shoot her in the head, and he apologized for 129 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 3: making a mockery of the criminal legal system by lying. 130 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 3: Does that seem like the kind of apology that the 131 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 3: LADA was looking for? 132 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 2: It does, and that's something that I thought has been underreported. 133 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought it up, Jin, because Hawkman had 134 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 2: asked for a real apology, said enough of this abuse. 135 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 2: Excuse take responsibility for your actions. Stop saying that you 136 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 2: had to kill your parents because they would have killed 137 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 2: you first. 138 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 7: That was a lie all along. 139 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 2: And I do believe with their statements that they went 140 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 2: a long way towards meeting Hawkman request, and that's why 141 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 2: I think that they will be released earlier. I do 142 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 2: think that this was as close to a full fledged 143 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 2: apology acknowledgment of guilt that we have ever seen from them. 144 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 2: It was something different than before, and I think that's 145 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:16,239 Speaker 2: going to lead to their early release. 146 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 3: The judge called the crime shocking. He said he was 147 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 3: also shocked by the number of Corrections officials who wrote 148 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 3: letters on behalf of the brothers, and that seemed to 149 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 3: be an important part of his decision. 150 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 2: It was something that corrections officials and family members all 151 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 2: sided with them, and I do think the celebrity part 152 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 2: of it has something to do with it. The Netflix 153 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 2: shows the movement behind them. Yeah, I think that did 154 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 2: persuade people. But you know, I do think also there's 155 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 2: really little doubt that they are different people today than 156 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 2: they were back then. They were real, spoiled, selfish kids 157 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 2: who acted in a brutal, horrific way. I mean the 158 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 2: fact that the mother, who did not engage in sexual 159 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 2: abuse but may have helped cover it up. She was 160 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 2: crawling away after being shot by a shotgun, and then 161 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 2: the brothers went outside to reload to continue to come 162 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 2: in and shoot her ten times in putting in the face. 163 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 2: There was so much blood that the cops thought this 164 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 2: was a mafia hit, and yet they lied about everything. 165 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 2: They went on a spending spree. Only after spending seven 166 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 2: hundred thousand dollars in quick turn did they attract the 167 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 2: attention of law enforcement and then were eventually arrested. But 168 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 2: they got away with it for a while. They got 169 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 2: what they wanted, and I thought they deserved their sentence. 170 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 2: But you know, they are reformed and if the system 171 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 2: lets them out early. I don't think they will reoffend. 172 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 3: But a risk assessment by the Parole Board found there 173 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 3: was a moderate risk of them committing a crime if released, 174 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 3: although the judge said that the legal presumption is in 175 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 3: favor of resentencing unless there was an unreasonable risk that 176 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 3: they would commit a so called super strike crime such 177 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 3: as rape or murder. 178 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 2: That was actually eyes when I saw that moderate risk, 179 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:03,719 Speaker 2: I don't think they will reoffend me. There's so many 180 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 2: eyeballs on these guys. They're going to go on the 181 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 2: speaking circuit, They're going to go to reality shows. I mean, 182 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 2: I think it's unfair because they're going to be treated 183 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 2: in a way that others are not. They're going to 184 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 2: get super celebrity and make a lot of money off this, 185 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:18,960 Speaker 2: and no one should profit off their infamy. 186 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 3: There are several tracks that would allow them to be released. 187 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:27,160 Speaker 3: Parole from the parole Board or clemency from the governor 188 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 3: seem the most likely. I mean, to get parole, they 189 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 3: have to take responsibility for their crimes and show they're 190 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 3: unlikely to reoffend, which is basically what the judge considered. 191 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 2: I do think that the two tracks will lead to 192 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 2: their early release. 193 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 7: Whether it's the. 194 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 2: Governor Newsom track of the clemency Board and then signed 195 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 2: by the Governor or the Parole Board, which is what 196 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 2: the judge just tantioned. So either way, I think they're 197 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 2: headed towards the release. 198 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 3: Their first Parole Board hearing is set for June thirteenth. 199 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 1: And if the Parole Board does. 200 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 3: Deny parole, it has to do so for a period 201 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 3: of three, five, seven, ten or fifteen years, So it 202 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 3: could deny parole and then say, well, come back in 203 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 3: three years. 204 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 2: I would think that would be probably the best case 205 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 2: scenario for those who want, I Meananda's brothers to stay 206 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 2: behind bars. I do not envision them remaining behind bars 207 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 2: that much longer, so three years maybe the outer limit. 208 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 3: There's also a Habeas Corpus petition they file back in 209 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 3: twenty twenty three, seeking a new trial. 210 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 2: That was always the most unlikely thing to happen. Of 211 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 2: the three real choice. They had the resented thing, they 212 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,320 Speaker 2: had the clemency, and then they had the Habeast, but 213 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 2: the Habeasts was sort of a dead end. 214 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 7: The other two. 215 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 2: Though, for Fruit and I think that that's going to 216 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 2: lead to their early release. 217 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 3: The Habeas Corpus petition was based on two new pieces 218 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 3: of evidence. Did that new evidence play any part in 219 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 3: Judge Jesseic's decision. 220 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 2: I think it did because the judge took everything into account. 221 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 2: It was more than the good behavior. It was the 222 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 2: fact that there was evidence that the sexual abuse from 223 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 2: Jose did occur. Not conclusive evidence, but we had a 224 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 2: letter that one of the Menanda's brothers wrote to a 225 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 2: cousin that mentioned it. There was also the Menudo boy 226 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 2: band member who said that Jose engaged in sexual abuse 227 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 2: with him. So yeah, there is evidence. 228 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 3: So they have several hurdles ahead of them. Even if 229 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 3: the parole board finds them eligible for parole, there's still 230 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 3: going to be a ninety day review period during which 231 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 3: the governor could block their release. 232 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: So more to come. Thanks so much, Dave. 233 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,439 Speaker 3: That's Dave Arenberg, former Palm Beach County State Attorney. I'm 234 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 3: June Grosso and you're listening to Bloomberg. The rid of 235 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 3: habeas corpus is a bedrock American legal right embedded in 236 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 3: the Constitution. Yet White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen 237 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 3: Miller said the administration has been actively looking at suspending 238 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 3: habeas corpus unilaterally. 239 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 8: Well, the Constitution is clear, and that, of course is 240 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:01,959 Speaker 8: the supreme law of the land that the privilege of 241 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 8: the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a 242 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 8: time of invasion. So it would say that's an option 243 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 8: we're actively looking at. Look, a lot of it depends 244 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:11,840 Speaker 8: on whether the course do the right thing or not. 245 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 3: Habeas corpus has only been suspended four times in our 246 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 3: nation's history, essentially in times of war or insurrection. My 247 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 3: guest is an expert in constitutional law. Jonathan Adler, a 248 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 3: professor at Case Western Reserve Law School, tell us about 249 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 3: the history of the writ of habeas corpus. 250 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 7: So, the writ of. 251 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 6: Habeas corpus traces its way back to the Magna Carta. Literally, 252 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 6: habeas corpus is a declaration that you have the body. 253 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 6: The idea is that you're challenging the alleged unlawful detention 254 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 6: of someone by the government. The writ of habeas corpus 255 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 6: has been recognized going back to the seventeenth century as 256 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 6: a way of challenging in England, at least the king's 257 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 6: right to incarcerate people, and in the United States, the 258 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 6: rit of habeas corpus is a way to challenge either 259 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 6: a conviction or the government's detention of an individual on 260 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 6: the grounds that it is not consistent with law. So 261 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 6: in the case of a conviction, we see rits of 262 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 6: habeas corpus filed by people who have been convicted of crimes, 263 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 6: often people who have been sentenced to the capital punishment, 264 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 6: challenging the regularity or the lawfulness of the proceedings through 265 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 6: which they are convicted, and then through a habeas corpus 266 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 6: can be filed in cases where, for example, someone is 267 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 6: alleging that the basis upon which they have been detained 268 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,160 Speaker 6: or arrested is unlawful. So we've seen this with alleged 269 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 6: enemy combatants, and we're seeing it now with individuals who 270 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 6: are alleged to be unlawfully present in the country or 271 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 6: potentially subject to deportation. 272 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 3: The section of the US Constitution that includes the suspension 273 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 3: of habeas corpus grants its powers to Congress and not 274 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 3: the President. 275 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 6: Well, that is the way we've generally interpreted what we 276 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 6: call the suspension clause. So Article one, section nine, which 277 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 6: is a portion of the Constitution that identifies limits on 278 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 6: Congress's power, has a clause that we refer to as 279 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 6: the suspension clause reads, the privilege of the writ of 280 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 6: habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when in cases 281 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 6: of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 282 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:11,600 Speaker 6: And given that it is in Article one, Section nine, 283 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 6: it has always been interpreted as placing a limitation on 284 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 6: Congress's ability to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, and 285 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 6: that interpretation goes all the way back to eighteen oh seven. 286 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 6: Is the first time Supreme Court, in an opinion by 287 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 6: Chief Justice Martial, indicated the understanding this is Congress's authority 288 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 6: to decide that habeas corpus can be suspended, and historically, 289 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 6: with one exception, when the writ of habeas corpus has 290 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 6: been suspended, it has either been suspended by Congress or 291 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 6: Congress has delegated to the President the authority to suspend 292 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 6: the writ in specified circumstances. 293 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 3: That interpretation of habeas corpus has been affirmed in Supreme 294 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 3: Court opinions in modern times. 295 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 7: Yes so. 296 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 6: For example, in the case of Homdi, which was a 297 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 6: case involving an individual and American citizen who was allegedly 298 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 6: captured in Afghanistan as a writer with the Taliban. He 299 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 6: was brought to the United States, and he filed oposition 300 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 6: for writ of habeas corpus. The question was whether or 301 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 6: not he could be detained in the United States without 302 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 6: being subject to trial, and if one goes through the 303 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 6: opinions in that case, While justices disagreed on a lot 304 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,920 Speaker 6: of questions about what sort of process mister Hamdi was 305 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:24,360 Speaker 6: entitled to and what other constitutional protections he deserved, all 306 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 6: of the opinions operated on the premise that if the 307 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 6: writ of habeas corpus was to be suspended, it had 308 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 6: to be done so pursuant to an Act of Congress 309 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 6: subsequent to that in a case called Boomagen also involving 310 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,240 Speaker 6: alleged enemy combatant from the majority opinion of the Supreme 311 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 6: Court in that case made clear that this is a 312 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 6: check on executive power. That the writ of habeas corpus 313 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 6: often in this sort of context serves as a check 314 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 6: on executive power, and it obviously could not serve that 315 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 6: function if the executive branch could unilaterally just decide to 316 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 6: suspend it. 317 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 3: So, if the Trump administration actually did decide to suspend 318 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:05,040 Speaker 3: habeas corpus unilaterally, would that definitely constitute a constitutional crisis. 319 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 6: Well, two things first, I think when one looks at 320 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 6: Miller's comments, I think he was perhaps being very careful. 321 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:13,919 Speaker 6: He said they were looking at the option of the 322 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 6: privilege of the Writ of habeas corpus being suspended. He 323 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 6: did not say whether the executive branch was going to 324 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 6: try and do that unilaterally, or whether they were going 325 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 6: to ask Congress to do it. My own view is 326 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 6: they can look at it all they want, because if 327 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 6: they do look at it, they'll realize that they do 328 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 6: not have the authority to do it unilaterally. The one 329 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,159 Speaker 6: time the executive branch did suspend the Writ of habeas 330 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 6: corpus unilaterally was during the Civil War when President Lincoln 331 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 6: suspended the writ in Baltimore out of a concern that 332 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 6: rail lines to the nation's capital would be severed or 333 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:46,719 Speaker 6: blocked and that would lead to the fall of Washington, 334 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,360 Speaker 6: d c. To Confederate forces. And even that in such 335 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 6: an extreme circumstance, when the nation was in civil war, 336 00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 6: when there were hostile troops threatening the nation's capital, even 337 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 6: that was recognized as an extreme action. It's one that 338 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 6: Congress later ratified, but most people accept was not consistent 339 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 6: with the constitution structure. So if the administration were to 340 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,880 Speaker 6: try to suspend the Writ of abeas Corpus, not particularly 341 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 6: doubtful that courts would conclude that that was unlawful, that 342 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,680 Speaker 6: the administration lacks that authority, and I think they would 343 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 6: primarily do so on the grounds that it's just not 344 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 6: something the executive branch can do within US territory during 345 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 6: peace time. That there's no question that the executive branch 346 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:31,360 Speaker 6: does not have that sort of unilateral authority. The more 347 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 6: interesting thought experiment would be what if the administration could 348 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 6: convince Congress to suspend the Writ. And as I noted before, 349 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:43,440 Speaker 6: the language of the suspension clause refers to the reasons 350 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 6: why the Writ could be suspended. It says that it 351 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 6: shall not be suspended unless when in cases of rebellion 352 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 6: or invasion. And so hypothetically, if the administration were to 353 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:58,160 Speaker 6: convince Congress that illegal immigration is such that it constitutes 354 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 6: an invasion and Congress words spend the Writ, there is 355 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:04,360 Speaker 6: an interesting question about whether or not that judgment by 356 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 6: Congress would be subject to judicial review. I think the 357 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 6: prevailing wisdom is that whether or not Article one, Section 358 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:14,280 Speaker 6: nine requirements have been met would be a non justiciable 359 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 6: political question. But that's really just a thought experiment, because 360 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 6: that would require Congress passing legislation to suspend the WRIT, 361 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:24,639 Speaker 6: and it's pretty clear with the margins in Congress right 362 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 6: now that's not something that is even remotely likely. 363 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 3: The grounds that they refer to for suspending the WRIT 364 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,360 Speaker 3: are the same grounds basically that they referred to for 365 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 3: invoking the Alien Enemies Act, and at least four federal 366 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 3: judges have found that America isn't facing an invasion by 367 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:48,640 Speaker 3: undocumented migrants. The Supreme Court hasn't weighed in yet on 368 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,960 Speaker 3: whether the administration can deport people under the Alien Enemies Act, 369 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 3: but for a second time on Friday, the Justices said 370 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 3: the detainees have to be given due process, a chance 371 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 3: to challenge their deportations by a rid of habeas corpus. 372 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,720 Speaker 6: So the Trump administration is being required to allow the 373 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,399 Speaker 6: individuals attained to file petitions for Brits of abeas corpus, 374 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,280 Speaker 6: and I expect that would continue. In the background here, 375 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,639 Speaker 6: there is this long standing notion that certain questions relating 376 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,679 Speaker 6: to national security, perhaps even some relating to the border, 377 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 6: are what we refer to as political questions, questions that 378 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,160 Speaker 6: are resolved by the political branches not by courts, And 379 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,199 Speaker 6: in so far as these questions touch on that, the 380 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:32,280 Speaker 6: role that courts have played is to make sure that 381 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:36,080 Speaker 6: the legislature and the executive branch each perform their respective functions, 382 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 6: but to not second guess their determination. So, if Congress 383 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 6: were to conclude that waves of the illegal immigration are 384 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 6: at least potentially in an invasion for purposes of the 385 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 6: suspension clause, you know, I suspect courts would allow that 386 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 6: to stand, not because they would be saying Congress is correct, 387 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,640 Speaker 6: but because they would be saying, the courts don't get 388 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 6: to second guess that. Now, having said all that, I 389 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:03,800 Speaker 6: don't think there is any question as a historical matter 390 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 6: that illegal immigration, even at far higher rates than we 391 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 6: see now, would not constitute an invasion for purposes of 392 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 6: that clause. The language of the suspension clause is invoking 393 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,359 Speaker 6: the idea that there are certain situations, such as rebellion 394 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 6: or an invasion by an invading army, that create a 395 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 6: situation in which, in effect, the courts are not open. 396 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,919 Speaker 6: So the idea has been that if martial law, for example, 397 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 6: is declared, that effectively tells the courts to stop operations, 398 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,719 Speaker 6: the writ of habeas corpus when it is suspended by 399 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 6: the legislature. That's typically because it's not safe or possible 400 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 6: for the courts to engage in their normal functioning. That 401 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:45,480 Speaker 6: is the sort of invasion that Article one, section nine contemplates, 402 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,960 Speaker 6: not higher numbers of people crossing the border than perhaps 403 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,679 Speaker 6: Congress might like. So I don't think there's any question 404 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,120 Speaker 6: that as a textual matter or as a historical matter, 405 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:57,120 Speaker 6: that the clause would not be satisfied. But there is 406 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 6: this question about whether or not it's something that courts 407 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,120 Speaker 6: can properly issue a decision on, as opposed to leaving 408 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 6: it to the interplay between the executive and the legislature. 409 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 3: Did you hear a subtle threat to judges in Miller's comments? 410 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,439 Speaker 3: He said, these radical rogue judges are at war with 411 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:18,920 Speaker 3: the executive branch and the legislative branch, and the administration's 412 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 3: decision on whether to suspend habeas corpus depends a lot 413 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,879 Speaker 3: on whether the courts do the right thing or not. 414 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 6: Yeah, so, I mean, you know, Steve Miller's not a lawyer, 415 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 6: but he is someone that often speaks about legal issues 416 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:38,280 Speaker 6: for the administration and often says things that aren't quite right. 417 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 6: As a legal matter, but I think do echo the 418 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 6: message that the administration wants to send, particularly to its base. 419 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,159 Speaker 6: I think in this sort of context, there is this 420 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 6: implicit threat, or this very adversarial posture to the Court's 421 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 6: suggestion that of courts don't cooperate, or if the courts 422 00:22:55,840 --> 00:23:00,480 Speaker 6: obstruct the administration's agenda, the administration will look forward to 423 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 6: push back in an extreme way, and this certainly could 424 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,959 Speaker 6: be one of them. I'm not entirely sure this is 425 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 6: an effective strategy for the administration. I mean, certainly, I 426 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 6: can't imagine lawyers who work in the administration making these 427 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 6: sorts of comments publicly, certainly not the lawyers that have 428 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 6: to themselves appear in court. And it's not clear to 429 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:23,639 Speaker 6: me that these sorts of comments are helpful, and I 430 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,359 Speaker 6: doubt they do much to change the way judges evaluate 431 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 6: these sorts of claims. In fact, in some cases, they 432 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 6: might even undermine the administration's position insofar as they suggest 433 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,239 Speaker 6: the administration is not dotting its size and crossing its 434 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:38,240 Speaker 6: peace on legal question. 435 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 3: And after Friday seven to two decision where the Supreme 436 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 3: Court blocked the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act 437 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 3: to summarily deport alleged gang members being held in a 438 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,879 Speaker 3: Texas facility. It seems like seven justices are going to 439 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 3: insist that the detainees have the chance to file habeas 440 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 3: corpus petitions. Thanks so much, Jonathan. That's Professor Jonathan Adler 441 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 3: of Case Western Reserve Law School. I'm June Grosso and 442 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 3: you're listening to Bloomberg. 443 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 2: Today. 444 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,399 Speaker 3: I'm going to be sharing with you the best ever 445 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:24,440 Speaker 3: vanilla cake recipe. It's nice and light and fluffy, it's 446 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 3: golden on the outside. It may be the best vanilla 447 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 3: cake recipe, but another baker says it's her recipe. Australian 448 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:38,679 Speaker 3: influencer and baking guru Brooke Bellamy has millions of followers 449 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,959 Speaker 3: on TikTok and her first cookbook was a best seller, 450 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:46,720 Speaker 3: but her recipes for caramel slice and baklava went from 451 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:52,399 Speaker 3: sweet to sour after another celebrity chef, Naji Mahashi, accused 452 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,040 Speaker 3: Bellamy of copying those. 453 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,880 Speaker 1: Recipes from her, and then yet another. 454 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 3: Celebrity chef accused her of copying the vanilla cake cake recipe. 455 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:05,880 Speaker 3: Bellamy denied the accusations, saying she created the recipes over 456 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,679 Speaker 3: many years, but the fallout. The media coverage and the 457 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,960 Speaker 3: online trolling have been so intense that Bellamy went into 458 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 3: hiding and Mahasha even tried to turn down the vitriol 459 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:19,359 Speaker 3: in an Instagram post. 460 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:26,920 Speaker 9: Please stop the trolling now. I know I've made serious allegations, 461 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 9: but this does not justify the personal attacks that I've 462 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 9: seen online against Brook Bellamy. 463 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 3: My guest is intellectual property litigator Terrence Ross, a partner 464 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 3: Katin Yuchen Rosenman Terry. Let's start with the legal basics. 465 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:46,359 Speaker 3: Can you copyright a recipe? 466 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,480 Speaker 7: So June? In theory, it is possible to copyright cookbook 467 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:54,480 Speaker 7: or even a few individual recipes. It's very hard to do. 468 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,640 Speaker 7: It's considered one of the trickiest theories of the law, 469 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:00,360 Speaker 7: and a little bit of protection you do get if 470 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:03,880 Speaker 7: you're capable of getting a copyright is called thin protection 471 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 7: by copyright lawyers, which essentially means that you've got to 472 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,920 Speaker 7: put the book on a xerox machine and copy it 473 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,920 Speaker 7: word for word for there to be infringement. The problem 474 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:15,200 Speaker 7: here is that copyright doesn't allow protection of ideas, and 475 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 7: a recipe how to bake a cake is simply an 476 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:22,119 Speaker 7: idea and embedded in that idea, are some scientific principles 477 00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 7: that are just required, and you're not allowed to copyright 478 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,560 Speaker 7: scientific principles either. And it's got to be the certain 479 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 7: amount of the ingredients to get the right flavor, it's 480 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:31,680 Speaker 7: got to be a certain temperature being baked in the oven, 481 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 7: and those aren't copyrightable. And so it is a very 482 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,720 Speaker 7: challenging thing to assert copyright in a recipe or cookbook. 483 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,960 Speaker 7: And about the only parts that can be copyrighted or 484 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 7: sort of the expression of the recipe so style the 485 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:47,680 Speaker 7: wording describing what this cake is going to turn out 486 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,240 Speaker 7: to be, what this cookie tastes like, as opposed to 487 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:51,400 Speaker 7: the actual recipe. 488 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 3: So tell us about this recipe dispute, which has really 489 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 3: gotten a lot of play, not only in Australia but internationally. 490 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 7: So it's an interesting copyright dispute that came up in Australia. 491 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 7: There's a very famous ticktock baking influencer in Australia name 492 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:12,359 Speaker 7: of brook Bellamy, and she has over three million followers 493 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,960 Speaker 7: and is famous for posting TikTok videos of how you 494 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,440 Speaker 7: bake you know, tasty treats. She actually runs a chain 495 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 7: of bakeries in Australia. And has achieved quite a bit 496 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:29,560 Speaker 7: of notoriety down Under, but also expanding outside of Australia. 497 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 7: And so last October she came out with her first 498 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 7: cookbook and it was called Bake with Brookie, and that's 499 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,320 Speaker 7: in partant names after her big good stores, which are 500 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,520 Speaker 7: called Brookies bake Houses. But this book, because of her 501 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 7: fame as an influencer in the baking circles, was an 502 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,720 Speaker 7: instant success. It sold over one hundred thousand copies in 503 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:53,520 Speaker 7: less than six months, growth sales around four million dollars 504 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:56,679 Speaker 7: and was the second best selling book for the Australian 505 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,879 Speaker 7: Christmas season last year, so very very successful and just 506 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 7: a couple of days before the Australian Book Industry Awards, 507 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 7: which is a big deal in publishing circles in Australia, 508 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 7: and her book Baked with Brookie was in competition for 509 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:15,520 Speaker 7: Best Cookbook with a couple other famous long time baking experts, 510 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 7: and one of them, Naji Mahashi, posted online that she 511 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 7: thought two of the recipes in Bake with Brookie were 512 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:26,600 Speaker 7: plagiarized from her own cookbook and laid out the arguments 513 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,320 Speaker 7: as to why, and this caused quite a stir and 514 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:36,120 Speaker 7: then to make things worse, Sally McKenny, famous American baking 515 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 7: cook with a number of cookbooks of her own out 516 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 7: sort of piled on and said that she thought that 517 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 7: the vanilla cake recipe in Bake with Brookie had been 518 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 7: taken from one of her books. And when you compare 519 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 7: the recipes side by side, there is almost an identity 520 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 7: of ingredients and amounts and cooking temperatures. But in the 521 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 7: case of Sally mckenny's vanilla cake, she does something sort 522 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 7: of unusual. She uses buttermilk and Brooke Bellamy in Bake 523 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:05,360 Speaker 7: with Brookie, her recipe for vanilla cake also used buttermilk, 524 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,520 Speaker 7: which struck selling Kenny's odd so she brought this out 525 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 7: and it was sort of that point. The oven midst 526 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 7: were off, Folks were chiming in and trolling Brooke Bellamy 527 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,160 Speaker 7: onlines to the point where she had to shut down 528 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 7: her ig account. The press was pamped outside her house 529 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 7: so she couldn't leave the house. She did not attend 530 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 7: the awards ceremony for the book Industry. Now. The only 531 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:28,960 Speaker 7: time she's left her house since this happened last week 532 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 7: of April was to go visit her lawyers, and she 533 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 7: was followed the entire way. 534 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,400 Speaker 3: Did Nagi Mahashi file a lawsuit against her. 535 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 7: So there is not actually a copyright infringement lawsuit filed yet. 536 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 7: Naji Mahashi has taken it to her lawyers, who have 537 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,320 Speaker 7: reached out to the lawyers for the publishing house to 538 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 7: publish Bake with Brookie the Penguin Random House Group, and 539 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 7: the two sides have exchanged letters apparently making accusations and 540 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 7: denying accusations, and Brooke Bellamy one of the few postings 541 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 7: she's done is a complete deny aisle in an explanation 542 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:05,080 Speaker 7: that much of the recipe business, both in baked goods 543 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:08,480 Speaker 7: and dinners, lunches and things, all that is derivative to 544 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 7: start with, and you build on the same foundation, and 545 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 7: therefore she does not believe that she did anything just 546 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 7: reputable dishonest alone unlawful. 547 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 3: But if the recipe can't be copyrighted, what are the 548 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 3: allegations or causes of action you could even bring. 549 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 7: So it's not that recipes can't be copyrighted. In theory, 550 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,920 Speaker 7: they can be copyrighted, it's just very hard to do that. 551 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 7: And to the extent that you have copyright protection, it 552 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 7: almost has to be an exact duplicate of the recipe 553 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:41,000 Speaker 7: to constitute copyright infringement. A lot of what's going on 554 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 7: here is moral posturing. There is this background noise that 555 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 7: is being created that somehow Brooke Bellamy is not being honest, 556 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 7: is stealing other people's works. Won't say being a fraud, 557 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,240 Speaker 7: but you know that's the implication that people want to draw. 558 00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 7: In a very competitive industry in which people are fighting 559 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,560 Speaker 7: for book sales and the June this is not something 560 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 7: that's new. The problem is that the law is so 561 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 7: weak in the area it almost invites plagiarism, if not 562 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:12,400 Speaker 7: copyright infringement. If you take the very first US American cookbook, 563 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 7: very famous book called American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, who 564 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,719 Speaker 7: was apparently a domestic servant in a household in Connecticut 565 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:24,400 Speaker 7: in the early Republic, and she published this herself, she 566 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 7: paid for it in seventeen ninety six, and it was 567 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 7: unique because it used exclusively American ingredients, it used American 568 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 7: cooking language, and put forward a lot of very famous 569 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 7: but duil that time, sub rosa American recipes. So this 570 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 7: was the first cookbook to have pumpkin pie in it. 571 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:44,960 Speaker 7: It was the first cookbook to suggest cranberried sauce with turkey. 572 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,560 Speaker 7: It was the first cookbook to use the word cookie, 573 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:51,040 Speaker 7: and it sold more copies than any other book in 574 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,479 Speaker 7: the Early Republic other than the Bible. The problem was, 575 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 7: as Miss Simmons said in her second edition, so she 576 00:31:57,520 --> 00:31:59,760 Speaker 7: wasn't making any money off of it. People were freely 577 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 7: being it and distributing it very widely. The main reason 578 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,080 Speaker 7: she came out with secondition was to correct errors that 579 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,040 Speaker 7: the publisher had made that were pretty big errors regarding 580 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 7: types of ingredients to be used in the mounts and 581 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:12,200 Speaker 7: temperatures to be cooked bad. But I mean, historians have 582 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 7: called this book the second tech Question of Independence because 583 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 7: he said to Americans, we no longer had to follow 584 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 7: British cooking traditions, baking traditions. We have everything we need 585 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,800 Speaker 7: here to be Americans, even in our domestic household, and 586 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 7: was very influential with women. And yet there was massive 587 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:28,479 Speaker 7: plagiarism for fifty years, to the extent where people were 588 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:30,600 Speaker 7: starting to substitute out her name, so she wasn't even 589 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 7: getting credit. He flashed forward in time and he come 590 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:34,800 Speaker 7: to nineteen eighty four, and you have this famous case 591 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,959 Speaker 7: between Richard Only and Richard Nelson. Richard Only had written 592 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 7: a number of French recipe books in English, very influential 593 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 7: in bringing French cooking to America. And Richard Nelson came 594 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,000 Speaker 7: out with a new book on American French recipes I 595 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,360 Speaker 7: think it was called, and Richard Only said, wait, a Mesican, 596 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:51,920 Speaker 7: I count thirty nine recipes that you took out of 597 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,000 Speaker 7: my book. And he actually filed a lawsuit, and the 598 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:58,840 Speaker 7: defendant agreed to the entry of an order stipulating that 599 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,680 Speaker 7: there had been infringement, So it wasn't aggressively litigated. He 600 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 7: just wanted to get rid of the lawsuit and entered 601 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:08,360 Speaker 7: into a stipulated order. But there're a case where copyright 602 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 7: lawsuit was actually thought of. It flashed forward in time 603 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 7: to twenty twenty one in the UK and the publishing 604 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 7: house Bloomsbury with drew what was a really enthusiastically expect 605 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:22,320 Speaker 7: that new book on Singaporean recipes by Elizabeth Hey and 606 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:26,400 Speaker 7: another Singaporean chef, Sharon. We had a last year that 607 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:29,200 Speaker 7: most of the recipes were taken from an older book 608 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:31,800 Speaker 7: by her, and the publishing house withdrew the work they'd 609 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:34,760 Speaker 7: already printed some seventeen thousand copies and were ready to 610 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:38,040 Speaker 7: go to market, and just the mere suggestion that there 611 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,200 Speaker 7: had been copyright infringement caused them to withdraw the work 612 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:43,640 Speaker 7: and not publish it. In effect. So we have this 613 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:49,000 Speaker 7: long history of disputes over recipes and cookbooks despite this 614 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,520 Speaker 7: whole legalarity being sort of a gray area as to 615 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:56,280 Speaker 7: whether or not there is protection, there's not protection, what's protected? 616 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:58,440 Speaker 7: How much do you have to take to get protection? 617 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,360 Speaker 7: How much do you need to take the order to 618 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:02,600 Speaker 7: be able to bring an infringement lawsuit? But they keep 619 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 7: coming up, you know, every decade or so, and now 620 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:07,680 Speaker 7: this dispute would refell me. It's just another example of 621 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 7: that down under this time. But the substantive law of 622 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,319 Speaker 7: copyright is the same under Australian US UK law when 623 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,799 Speaker 7: it comes to cookbooks and recipes, and so it's just 624 00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:20,160 Speaker 7: interesting to see this flare up from time to time 625 00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:21,400 Speaker 7: across the different continents. 626 00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:23,719 Speaker 3: So if Naji Mahashi came to you and said I 627 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:25,640 Speaker 3: want to sue take my case. 628 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:26,399 Speaker 1: What would you do? 629 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 2: You know? 630 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:30,680 Speaker 7: I think I would say that your chances of getting 631 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:36,120 Speaker 7: ultimately a verdict for damages in a copyright infringement lawsuit 632 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:40,280 Speaker 7: would not be good. However, Australia does have one feature, 633 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 7: and it's a copyright law that the United States law 634 00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:44,960 Speaker 7: does not have. It's this notion of moral rights. When 635 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 7: you use somebody else's work in this way, you have 636 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,600 Speaker 7: to give them credit or you've committed a separate, unlawful action, 637 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:56,359 Speaker 7: which is at least remediable by an injunction requiring that 638 00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:59,279 Speaker 7: credit be given where credit is due. And so there 639 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:01,120 Speaker 7: is that option, But my advice would be to go 640 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:04,399 Speaker 7: about it exactly the way Naja Mahashi's listeners are going 641 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,880 Speaker 7: about it. You bring up the issue with the publishing 642 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:09,040 Speaker 7: house and you say, look, we think there's a problem here, 643 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:12,400 Speaker 7: and see what they say, and then if they deny it, 644 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,759 Speaker 7: you have a basis to take that to the court 645 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,600 Speaker 7: of public opinion. Is being done here and see what happened. 646 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:20,120 Speaker 7: Because after a lot of what's going on here has 647 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 7: to do with competition within the cookbook field, and there's 648 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:27,560 Speaker 7: this general perception that you should not be plagarizing other 649 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,319 Speaker 7: people's recipes. But if you choose to do so, you 650 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,279 Speaker 7: ask permission and give credit. And I cannot tell you, 651 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:37,080 Speaker 7: June how many potential copyright cases I've been able to 652 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 7: avoid on behalf of my clients simply by telling them, look, 653 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:44,759 Speaker 7: say you're sorry, and give full credit, because at the 654 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:47,720 Speaker 7: end of the day, that's often what it's all about. 655 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:51,800 Speaker 7: They just want to be recognized as this was their creation, 656 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,799 Speaker 7: this was their work, and especially in this field of 657 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:59,120 Speaker 7: cookbooks recipes, permissions are often granted to allow someone to 658 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 7: use another person and recipe. You just have to ask 659 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:03,560 Speaker 7: and then give credit. And I think that's the big 660 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:06,839 Speaker 7: lesson to be learned here with respect to copyright law 661 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 7: in the context of potbooks and recipes, because. 662 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:11,879 Speaker 1: It seems like the damage has already been done here. 663 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:13,440 Speaker 1: I mean, she's hiding in her house. 664 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:18,480 Speaker 7: I think this is probably an enormous financial hit. Certainly 665 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 7: it's bound to affect sales of her book Bake with Brookie. 666 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:26,560 Speaker 7: She's taken down her social media and when you have 667 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:32,000 Speaker 7: a large portion of your persona wrapped up as an 668 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:35,239 Speaker 7: online influencer in the social media forms, to have that 669 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,840 Speaker 7: simply disappear, it's not just personally hurtful to you, it's 670 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:40,000 Speaker 7: financially damaging. 671 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:44,200 Speaker 3: And the repercussions for Bellamy seem to be continuing. Thanks 672 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:47,920 Speaker 3: so much, Terry. That's Terrence Ross of Catain Euchen Rosenman,