We Asked A Lawyer If Kanye Really Could Go To Jail For Thumping a Paparazzi

Yeezy could be facing a maximum of one year in jail for criminal battery and attempted grand theft. Following his violent run-in with a pap at LAX in July, Kanye will be face to face with a Los Angeles judge next month to see if he’ll be watching where he places his soap for the next year. We all know that the attack on 19 July came after a set of warnings from 'Ye but upon his arrival to the airport one photographer got brave and tried to have a chinwag with him. He was attacked by Kanye, who tried to wrestle his camera away from him before disappearing into a car. The photographer was later taken to A&E and promptly decided to press charges because he was left "badly injured".

Speaking with Jimmy Kimmel this Wednesday to make peace after their Twitter spat, Yeezy referenced the pap attack saying:

"We bring something of joy to the world. When people listen to my music, they have a good time, and I should be respected as such when I walk down the street…Don't try and antagonise me because you know what? It’s not safe for you in this zoo. Never think that I'm not from Chicago for one second…People say, ‘Well, you signed up to be a celebrity, blah blah blah,’ and I understand you gotta get your money, it’s hard out here, but let’s have respect for each other. You do help me get money, paparazzi, you show people how fresh my outfit is.”

Now we’re not legal experts, but Lloyd Zane Remick is. The Philadelphia-based lawyer concentrates his practice in the areas of entertainment and has represented many famous recording artists during his career. He’s also been voted “Best Entertainment and Sports Attorney in Philadelphia” multiple times and was elected International Entertainment Lawyer Of The Year 2012 so he knows his stuff. So we quizzed him about Kanye’s current predicament to see if we really could be without G.O.A.T for 12 months.

Hey Lloyd. First of all, could you give me a description of what grand theft is and criminal battery?

Normally, when people talk about this they talk about assault and battery. Assault is putting somebody in the fear of being attacked or being hit. Battery is the actual touching or hitting of another person. Assault is putting someone in imminent fear that you’re going to do something to them.

And what exactly is meant by the right to privacy?

Well, paparazzi target celebrities, knowing how people are obsessed with them and try to get enough information about them. The right of privacy and the right of publicity are civil actions. In Great Britain, you have some kind of limited rights for privacy and publicity. I think a lot of this stems from the publicity around the death of Princess Diana. The UK try to give better protection to people trying to protect their personal space. In California they passed a statute called the Paparazzi Law which gives people who have been hounded by them these people civil rights. There are fines and other things that can happen. There is now a second law on the books that deals with the protection of celebrities’ children. This is just in California though.

Interesting. Yeezy is facing a year in jail, but what is the likelihood of that actually happening?

I think he'll probably be on probation or under some sort of court supervision. I don’t think he’s going to be sentenced to prison. He also has an upcoming tour so there’s another aspect that has nothing to do with the criminal side. Under the law, there may be a civil action for monetary damage especially if they can prove that there was actual damage to the photographer’s camera.

How much will Kanye’s fame affect the verdict?

It’s a very interesting concept. Under the eyes of the law, everyone is equal. Realistically, I think being a celebrity does play a part. There is a whole history of examples. Some people think that because celebrities are constantly in the public eye, you have a disadvantage. Others think that celebrities benefit from it and the courts go easy on them.

So what is the difference between a freelance photographer and one from an agency being sued?

Basically, that gets us into a very involved question of freedom of the press. Your constitutional rights. When you are working for a newspaper or station and you’re not a freelancer, there’s more of a question of whether it’s newsgathering or protected by freedom of speech. The interesting thing with constitutional rights is that freedom of speech has limitations. There are certain things that you can not do. What the newspapers will say is that their work is protected by the fact that they’re newsgathering. The celebrity will call it an invasion of privacy. The classic example is that "you can’t yell fire in a crowded theatre". That’s not freedom of the press because of the likelihood of damage.

Can you get a restraining order on a whole agency in the US?

If somebody is being stalked or somebody is being continually harassed, there are protective orders that can be issued. The difficulty is that if someone is being harassed for the first time, it’s hard to get a protective order. There have been cases when paparazzi have stalked a particular celebrity, and yes you can get protective orders for that.

If you were Kanye’s lawyer, how would you approach this situation?

I would explain to the judge the pressure that celebrities such as Kanye West are under being continually hounded. He has let people know that he is not to be spoken to. People do not have a right to invade your space and in this case, continual hounding by photographers and paparazzi can get one to a point where they react.

Follow Errol on Twitter @errol_and

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