The mysterious case of Ms. Carrie Prejean

[kandrathe]

Actually, no, I was not really thinking about me, or you at all. I was actually thinking still about the original topic, that of the public slander of Ms. Prejean. I'm sure she is concerned about the continuing revelations by various prurient scandal rags that are now intent to disclose the full discourse of her parents messy divorce when she was a child.

As I read Brandeis' arguments and thought of her case, I think she has truly been victimized by various media outlets (whose lawyers are familiar with slander and libel suits), and obviously by some photographers who have sold her image outside of the original contract, and without her permission. What he wrote about newspapers, and photographs in that 1890 Harvard Law opinion rang true as if he had written it yesterday.

In this case, the internet is just another media outlet, and digital images are the copyrighted material which she owns but have been illegally used as if they were in the public domain. If modeling is her career, then her image is what she owns, markets, and has the right to control. Those people who are slandering, or libeling her are trying to destroy her, and her livelihood. So, this is about property rights, and her right to privacy. The question for a court to decide is whether she has given up her expectation of privacy rights by participating in the public spectacle of the Miss USA pageant. I would hope that Donald Trump, and his lawyers would see, that the muckrakers like Perez Hilton, or the Enquirer are damaging his assets as well. But, I fear that it may be the case that Mr. Trump will use her now for the cheap publicity, then toss her away when it is financially expeditious. That is probably not unusual for actresses, or models anyway.