Not in my book, however once upon a time I was presenting a weekly Dubstep show on Silk City Fm when...........
I have recently been subject of an Ofcom case and have appeared at Birmingham Crown Court. This was a result of being arrested during a raid on the Silk City studio in september last year. I fought hard for as long as I could but once I reached Crown Court the Judge threw out the legal arguments and left my legal team with no defence whatsoever to present to a jury. This meant I had to change my Not Guilty plea to Guilty and I was given 12 months conditional discharge. The prosecuting barrister asked for £16,500 court costs - the Judge awarded £300! he also ordered Ofcom to return all my records to me.
So I am now offering for sale a limited edition T-shirt design. The print run is limted to 100 shirts, each one numbered and signed. Price is £10. I put the T-shirts on sale yesterday and already half have gone so get in quick if you want to own one of these distinctly forthright items. just PM me or email boogiedownbrum@aol.com and we'll make the arrangements;
The offence is/was illegal broadcasting. Silk's a pirate. And the whole point of the shirts is the same as the old Skating Is Not A Crime shirts after skateboarders got busted.
My point in court was that if I, as a DJ, go and play records in a nightclub that has not got the relevant required licenses in place I am not guilty of a crime. Yet if I play records on a station that has no licence then I am. We also went along the track of questioning the fabric of the law, which holds that the 'offence' come under Strict Liability. This means you are guilty merely by your presence without the prosecution showing 'mens rea', that you have a 'guilty mind'. Strict Liability is supposed to be used in offences where it is in the public interest to prosecute. As pirates are pretty much back on air relatively quickly (in this instance, 2 weeks after my arrest and have continued to broadcast sincec) where is the serving public interest? Ofcom also state that the cases of prosecution act as a deterrent. Well that is blatantly not so as there ever been a DJ decide not to go on a pirate because someone else got arrested and prosecuted? Probably not.
The whole procedure, to my mind, is nothing more than to ensure the revenue streams of Ofcom. One of the witness statements was from a commercial station, a local one at that, who complained that they were having their broadcasts interfered with. The MD stated that he pays £500,000 each year for his license. So imagine the enormous amount that Ofcom receive in payments each year. They HAVE to go after pirates or those that pay wouldn't do so anymore........
regardless, I'm just loving the fact that by selling these shirts I am paying the legal costs off. If you want to order one, fine. If not, fine also. C'est la vie.
stoppauseplay wrote:
its kind of like beating the shit into someone with a brick, getting arrested, getting out and making a t shirt that says "bricks are not a crime"
signature stuff right there!
stoppauseplay wrote:
its kind of like beating the shit into someone with a brick, getting arrested, getting out and making a t shirt that says "bricks are not a crime"
