O.J. Slammed for Satellite-TV Swiping

[jbmagic]

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/en...251606000.html

Next time maybe O.J. Simpson should call the cable guy.

A federal judge in Miami on Tuesday ordered the former football great to pony up $25,000 in damages to DirecTV after allegedly pirating satellite TV signals.

The satellite-TV provider sued Simpson in March 2004, accusing him of piracy after government agents raided his Miami mansion in 2001 and turned up "bootloaders," illicit devices used to unscramble DirecTV's satellite signals.

At the time, the feds were investigating an ecstasy, money-laundering and satellite-theft ring. Simpson was never charged in relation to the probe.

After DirecTV filed suit, his attorney, Yale Galanter, claimed that, despite being a long-time paying customer, the Juice was being squeezed by the company.

n Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard found in favor of DirecTV, and Galanter vowed to appeal on the grounds that Simpson didn't get a fair hearing.

"[The judge] basically denied us our right to a jury trial," Galanter said after the hearing, per the Associated Press. "This was a decision made by a judge in chambers. They said he did it; we say he didn't. A jury should be able to make that decision."

Galanter later told the Los Angeles Times that Simpson wasn't living in the home when the bootloaders were discovered. The attorney said there was "no evidence that [Simpson] knew or should have known" the devices were against the law.

A rep for DirecTV disputed that assertion, telling E! Online the judge's decision vindicated the company's position that the onetime Heisman winner knew full well what he was doing.

"The ruling serves as a reminder that there are consequences to signal theft, whether you're O.J. or John Q. Public," said Robert Mercer, communications director for DirecTV. "The judge made the correct ruling based on the evidence. Our signal-integrity guy walked in the door of the Simpson residence and saw the devices as they were intercepting our programming."

Mercer also discounted Galanter's statements, saying that Simpson did not have a legit DirecTV account.

More than 10 years since he was acquitted for the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, Simpson's legal problems continue to linger.

He wound up on the losing end of a $33.5 million wrongful-death civil suit filed by the families of the victims and has yet to pay the bulk of the award.

In 1997, Simpson and his two children moved from Los Angeles to Miami, purportedly to live a lower-key life. Fat chance.

He was arrested in December 2000 on road-rage charges, allegedly breaking the glasses of a motorist who honked at him; Simpson was eventually acquitted. Then in November 2002, he was slapped with a speeding ticket for racing a powerboat through Biscayne Bay in a zone reserved for endangered manatees. After skipping out on a court date, a warrant was issued for his arrest, but Simpson was able to avoid jail time after showing up for another hearing and paying a fine.

In January 2003, cops were called to the Simpson home after a tearful call from his daughter, Sydney, following an alleged shouting match between her and her father. Police deemed it a family dispute and no charges were filed.

[HomerJSimpson]

My ex-brother-in-law got caught doing this a while back. He had to plea to misdemeanor theft charges, and pay several thousand dollars to Dish Network. He was caught when the company he was buying descrambling devices got busted, and they just went down the customer list tagging people.

[Kevin]

More importantly, did the judge ask OJ how his search for the "real" killer was going?

[Leonidas]

If you can't bust him for murder, there's always cable TV theft.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by HomerJSimpson

My ex-brother-in-law got caught doing this a while back. He had to plea to misdemeanor theft charges, and pay several thousand dollars to Dish Network. He was caught when the company he was buying descrambling devices got busted, and they just went down the customer list tagging people.

I'm glad he's your EX-brother-in-law. It never ceases to amaze me how people justify doing crap like this.

[HomerJSimpson]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I'm glad he's your EX-brother-in-law. It never ceases to amaze me how people justify doing crap like this.

His reason? Because he could. He is not a Mensa member.

[Huckleberry]

I still don't get this. I understand and agree that downloading music is illegal. And it should be.

But the satellite companies - sure, by necessity - beam their signal down onto my property all the way down to the ground on the land I own and to my house. How can it be illegal for me to create, own, or use a device that simply decodes signals that are being sent to my house by somebody that I didn't ask to do that?

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

I still don't get this. I understand and agree that downloading music is illegal. And it should be.

But the satellite companies - sure, by necessity - beam their signal down onto my property all the way down to the ground on the land I own and to my house. How can it be illegal for me to create, own, or use a device that simply decodes signals that are being sent to my house by somebody that I didn't ask to do that?

Because we protect copyright owners in America. You can receive the signal, you just can't use your knowledge of copyrighted material to duplicate a process that decodes it in a way that provides you with entertainment.

We have laws like that to encourage development of new technologies and artistic creations. Presumably, the beaming of satellite signals does not cause you harm or restrict your rights as a property owner.

[Ragone]

If the dish is legit.. you must acquit