Son of Sam law

The phrase Son of Sam Law refers to a type of law designed to keep criminals from profiting from their crimes, often by selling their stories to publishers. Such laws often authorize the state to seize money earned from such a deal and use it to compensate the criminal's victims.

The first such law was created in New York after the Son of Sam murders committed by serial killer David Berkowitz. It was enacted after rampant speculation about publishers offering large amounts of money for Berkowitz's story. The law was invoked in New York eleven times between 1977 and 1990, including once against Mark David Chapman.

In certain cases a Son of Sam law can be extended beyond the criminals themselves to include friends, neighbors, and family members of the lawbreaker who seek to profit by telling publishers and filmmakers of their relation to the criminal. In other cases, a person may not financially benefit from the sale of a story or any other momentos pertaining to the crime—if the criminal was convicted after the date lawmakers passed the law in the states where the crime was committed.

Critics disputed the law on First Amendment grounds. It was argued that "Son of Sam" laws take away the financial incentive for many criminals to tell their stories, some of which (such as the Watergate scandal) were of vital interest to the general public.

In 1987, lawyers for Simon and Schuster sued the New York authorities to enjoin enforcement of the Son of Sam law. Their case involved the book "Wiseguy", written by Nicholas Pileggi about ex-mobster Henry Hill and used as the basis for the film "Goodfellas". The case reached the Supreme Court in 1991. In an 8-0 ruling, the court ruled the law unconstitutional. "Simon & Schuster v. Crime Victims Board" ussc|502|105|1991. The majority opinion was that the law was overinclusive, and would have prevented the publication of such works as "The Autobiography of Malcolm X", Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience", and even "The Confessions of Saint Augustine".

The Supreme Court ruling actually stated that Son of Sam laws could conceivably be constitutional, but only if written very carefully with regard to First Amendment concerns. Though this original New York law was struck down, various states (including New York) have laws to prevent felons from capitalizing on their crimes written with an eye towards adhering to the First Amendment ruling laid out by the Supreme Court. New York, after numerous revisions, adopted a law in 2001 again known as the "Son of Sam" law. [N.Y. Executive Law § 632-a (McKinney 2005).] This law requires that victims of crimes be notified whenever a person convicted of a crime received $10,000 (US) or more—from virtually any source. [N.Y. Corrections Law § 500-c (McKinney 2006).] The law then attaches a springing statute of limitations, giving victims an extended period of time to sue the perpetrator of the crime in civil court for their crimes. [See N.Y. C.P.L.R.] This law also authorizes a state agency, the Crime Victims' Board, to act on the victims' behalf in some limited circumstances. [N.Y. Executive Law § 632-a(2) (McKinney 2005).] Thus far, the current New York law has survived constitutional scrutiny.

The state of California's Son of Sam law was struck down in 2002 after being used against Barry Keenan, one of the men who kidnapped Frank Sinatra, Jr. in 1963.

In Texas in 1998 a civil jury awarded $1.001 billion to the siblings of Holly Maddux, invoking the Son of Sam law. The Maddux family is not expectant to receive the money, rather the lawsuit was based on the rumor that Holly Maddux's murderer Ira Einhorn was expected to sign a book deal with a European publisher. The siblings had refused to allow Einhorn to make money over the tragedy, and their lawyer had argued in court "we seek to seize any earnings of Ira Einhorn or his wife. If he can spend it, we want it." [www.crimelibrary.com]

In high profile cases and cases that are closely tied to national security, namely convictions for terrorism and espionage, a Son of Sam law is often worked into any plea bargain. This had been the case in the convictions of John Walker Lindh and Harold James Nicholson. As a result of their plea bargains, any profits made from book deals or movie rights would be redirected to the government. Neither the convicts nor their families would be able to profit. However, as of 2008, neither Lindh nor Nicholson have had their crime cases publicized in such a manner.

With the advent of the Internet and online sales, many Son of Sam laws are now targeting the sale of murderabilia. The constitutionality of many of these new laws is mostly untested at this point.

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