>In a recent case, the book, Hit Man was used as a manual to commit a
> >multiple murder. The family of the victims of this murder sued the
> >publisher and author of this book. Based on my reading of the decision
> >in that case (which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court),
My recollection is that the Supremes merely declined to review the Fourth Circuit, which is a very different matter. A denial of cert (the writ of certiorari is the S.Ct's order to a lower court to submit its judgment for review) carries no implications of approval and is not an upholding, it just means the court couldn't get four votes to hear the case, that's all
this case
> >could be brought to trial because the book, Hit Man: taught criminal
>behavior, exhorted the reader to engage >in criminal behavior, and then
>taught the reader to develop a blatant >disregard for human life.
I think the theory was that Hit Man was actual incitement to murder, not this vaguer stuff. Its lega; to teach and even abstractly advocate criminal behavior and disregard for human life. Actual incitement criminal activity is not protected. Therefore the publisher and author could be held liable for people acting on their incitement. I think this is perfect rubbish, but then I'm an near absolutist civil libertarian.
jks
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