California Rap Bill Signed Into Law, Limits Use Of Lyrics As Evidence
The law specifically directs Judges to consider where admission of lyrics and other forms of creative expression as evidence may "explicitly or implicitly inject racial bias into the proceedings."
Landwebs
California’s Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, which limits the use of rap lyrics and other forms of creative expression in criminal prosecutions and aims to reduce racial biases in the state’s criminal justice system, has been signed into law, reports Anna Rose for NME. The law sets careful considerations for the court to weigh the use of song lyrics and other forms of creative expression as evidence and provides explicitly for counter-presentation of testimony and research that analyses the role creative expression may or may not play as evidence for a crime. The law specifically directs Judges to consider where admission of lyrics and other forms of creative expression as evidence may “explicitly or implicitly inject racial bias into the proceedings.”
The law comes after YSL rappers Young Thug and Gunna were charged in Georgia over the summer with conspiracy to violate the state’s RICO Act, with the majority of the prosecutor’s evidence against them being taken from their song lyrics.
