Welcome to the RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through the top five controversial and crazy stories in the world of law and policy each day. So who is ranting and who is raving today? Check it out below:

Tommy Chong: Comedian Says Being Dropped From Bernie Sanders’ Event Is an ‘Insult’

At this point, can Bernie Sanders afford any more enemies? After Sanders took back his invite to have Tommy Chong, famous for his weed advocacy, speak at an LA rally, Chong took to social media to express how hurt he was to have been “burned” by his preferred candidate. Later it was discovered that the Sanders campaign dropped Chong due to a scheduling conflict. But I’m certain Chong will find ways to cope.

These Writers Have Some Serious Fightin’ Words for Trump

Renowned writers like Stephen King, Junot Diaz, Amy Tan, and Dave Eggars are standing up against Trump. As a lover of books and everything literary, it’s awesome to see the writing world stand up to this nasty businessman. If you too want to see Trump go down by way of America’s best authors, check out this kickass petition letter and join me in my happy dance.

State Department Slams Hillary with Cybersecurity Audit

Remember that email thing that’s become the proverbial monkey on Hillary Clinton’s back? A report sent to Congress by the State Department’s inspector general states that the former Secretary of State “disregarded cybersecurity guidelines.”

And it wasn’t just Hillary! Looks like this is a “longstanding” issue. Previous SOSs have done a poor job at managing computer information. This isn’t surprising because all Secretary of States are kind of ancient and therefore tech illiterate. Right?

When you email on a private server and it’s completely against State Dept rules: pic.twitter.com/IIH7HV3xFg

— Zachary T. Osborne (@ZTOESQ) May 25, 2016

Charlie Baker : Governor of Massachusetts Says He Does Not ‘Plan to Vote for President’

Can you do that? Can you just NOT VOTE for president? Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker thinks so. He voiced his opinion on the Boston Herald Radio today and told the host that he vows not to vote for Clinton or Trump. Even the Libertarian ticket is leaving a bad taste in his mouth. If you’re also fed up with the candidates, call up Charlie Baker for drinks on election day.

Chris Kyle: Late Navy SEAL and Subject of ‘American Sniper’ Embellished Military Record, Report Says

In a report released by The Intercept, late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle is said to have stretched the truth regarding his military record–essentially how many honors and medals he received during his career. An anonymous interviewer said: “The SEAL leadership was aware of the embellishment, but didn’t want to correct the record because Kyle’s celebrity status reflected well on the command.” These embellishments are found in Kyle’s autobiography, “American Sniper,” which was made into a film of the same name.

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The post RantCrush Top 5: May 25, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

As Eddie Ray Routh’s trial continues in the high profile American Sniper murder case, two videos shown to the jurors by the prosecution may in fact aid the defense in trying to prove an insanity defense. This case highlights the difficult of using the insanity defense in real life–any defense based on someone’s state  of mind requires a lot of guesswork and interpretation.

Routh is accused of killing retired Navy Seal and author of the bestselling memoir “American Sniper” Chris Kyle and his neighbor Chad Littlefield. The killings took place at the Rough Creek Ranch-Lodge-Resort shooting range in Erath County, Texas. Routh, who fled the murder scene, pleaded not guilty to both murders in a Stephenville, Texas courtroom, but many wonder if he’ll be able to receive a fair trial just months after the film adaptation of “American Sniper” grossed millions in the box office .

Yesterday the prosecution rested, allowing the defense to begin using Routh’s history of mental illness to argue an insanity defense, in hopes of combatting a potential death penalty outcome. Routh had spent two years in mental hospitals suffering from schizophrenia and post traumatic stress disorder prior to the murders.

The prosecution, on the other hand, is arguing that Routh was not insane, but rather abused drugs and alcohol. They are arguing he knew right from wrong in spite of his schizophrenia diagnosis for which he was taking medication. Despite this, they seemingly managed to lay foundation for his defense team with a video submitted Tuesday into evidence that sheds light on the what kind of mental state he was in around the time of the murders.

The court is not allowing the audio to be released to the public until after the trial, but in the video Routh is seen in the back of a cop car after being arrested. He is breathing heavily and teary-eyed.

According to CNN, an officer asks if he’s okay. Routh replies:

I’m just so nervous about what’s been happening in my life today. I don’t know what’s been happening. I’ve been so paranoid schizophrenic all day. I don’t know what to even think of the world right now. I don’t know if I’m insane or sane.

Routh clearly sounds disturbed in his ramblings, making me question why the prosecution thought this would benefit them. You can watch brief scenes from the evidence in USA Today’s video account of the proceedings below.

In another video shown to jurors of his police interrogation the night of the murders, Routh is shown sounding even more unhinged. According to USA Today he confesses to the shootings saying:

I knew if I didn’t take out his soul, he was going to take mine. You can’t let people keep eating your soul, you know? Warlords aren’t happy with me.

However, the prosecution painted a different scene with recordings CNN reports were also released Tuesday of a jailhouse interview between Routh and a reporter from The New Yorker magazine. In the interview, he is heard saying several questionable phrases such as:

So we’re shooting pistols here huh? Hmmm, OK, Again, that’s pretty much saying duel motherf*****.

I was like what the f*** are you even doing here man? This isn’t a spectator sport, it’s a shooting sport, you shoot. And that’s what got me all, you know, wired up.

I took care of business and then I got in the truck and left.

In those recordings, he sounds somewhat confrontational and like he is lacking remorse. There are just a lot of questions about what was really going through Routh’s head at the time of the murders.

No one doubts that Routh was the one who shot Kyle and Littlefield, but understanding if he was mentally competent enough to understand what he was doing is the real question. Despite what legal procedurals would have you believe, insanity defenses are only used in less than 1 percent of felony cases, and only a fraction are successful. Keeping that in mind, Routh’s defense has only just begun to plead their case while Kyle’s entire community of Stephenville anxiously watches. Whether or not the insanity defense will succeed remains to be seen.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Videos of “American Sniper” Shooter Might Prove Insanity Defense appeared first on Law Street.

The book publishing industry has had its fair share of legal disputes this year, from the consumer class-action lawsuits against the big-6 publishers to the HathiTrust case, which dealt with new fair use parameters in the digital book world.

To round out a busy year, it’s fitting that the past week was one of the busiest weeks of the year for the legal side of book publishing.

On Monday, the book publishing industry had its most important court date of the year. The Second Circuit listened to oral arguments regarding Apple’s appeal of a district court’s decision that found Apple guilty of fixing e-book prices with the big-5 publishers.

According to Publishers Weekly, Apple’s attorney, Theodore Boutros, argued that the district court erred in deciding that Apple was liable in its role in a “per se” case of price fixing in the e-book market. In antitrust law, “per se” means a violation that prevents further scrutiny of the conspiracy’s intent on the market (i.e., the effect on the market). Boutros argued that the district court should have applied a “rule by reason” framework in deciding its case, which would have taken into consideration Apple’s pro-competitive involvement in the e-book market.

The appeal also involved the big-5 publishers–Penguin and Random House merged earlier this year. Simon and Schuster’s and Macmillan’s attorneys argued that the district court’s final order should be reversed because the order extended Simon and Schuster’s and Macmillan’s original two-year “cooling off” period to four years, and the extension would hinder the publishers’ negotiations with other retailers.

The Second Circuit’s decision should be announced anywhere from a few weeks to a few months from now.

In other big year-end news, on Tuesday, Jesse Ventura continues his fight in his defamation lawsuit. Last summer, Ventura sued the estate of the late Chris Kyle for writing defamatory words about Ventura in Kyle’s book, “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.” Ventura claimed that Kyle wrote that Ventura, who is a former Navy SEAL, said that the Navy SEALs “deserved to lose a few.” Kyle also alleged that he had a fistfight with Ventura. Ventura denied both allegations, and Ventura later won $1.8 million in damages, consisting of $1.3 million for unjust enrichment and $500,000 in damages.

In the latest turn of events, Ventura has set his sights on Kyle’s publisher, HarperCollins. According to the Washington Post, Ventura has claimed that Kyle’s tale of the bar fight incident increased sales of his book, which generated millions of dollars for HarperCollins. The Los Angeles Times reports that Ventura seeks $150,000 in damages, though he will likely ask for more in settlement negotiations with HarperCollins.

Ventura received criticism for continuing with his lawsuit after Kyle passed away, but Ventura claims according to CBS News, “All I wanted to do was clear my name…It has nothing to do with a widow or anything like that.” Ventura added “I would have been a big-time loser had I not pursued the lawsuit, because…the whole story was fabricated…I was accused of treason, which in the military is the death penalty.”

With all the current activity currently before the courts, 2015 seems to be an eventful year for book publishing.

Joseph Perry

Joseph Perry is a graduate of St. John’s University School of Law whose goal is to become a publishing and media law attorney. He has interned at William Morris Endeavor, Rodale, Inc., Columbia University Press, and is currently interning at Hachette Book Group and volunteering at the Media Law Resource Center, which has given him insight into the legal aspects of the publishing and media industries. Contact Joe at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Year in Review: The Legal Side of Book Publishing appeared first on Law Street.