“They Ain’t Gonna Arrest Stephen King For His Words”: New California Law Limits the Use of Rap Lyrics as Evidence in Court Cases

On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that would limit courts’ use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal cases. The Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act states that a court is required “in a criminal proceeding where a party seeks to admit as evidence a form of creative expression, to consider specified factors when balancing the probative value of that evidence against the substantial danger of undue prejudice.” The bill was met with unanimous approval in the California Senate and Assembly in August—the first in the nation. “Artists of all kinds should be able to create without… Read Full Article