Coming Soon to a Courtroom Near You: Fox v. Vote for the Worst?
We don't write much about American Idol. We leave that subject to the experts, like Ann Althouse.
(You can read Professor Althouse's take on last night's show over here. Also, she shares our admiration for Sanjaya Malakar. Read her persuasive defense of Malakar over here.)
Today, however, we have a legal angle for writing about Idol. We have a video clip to pass along.
It's already been nicely summarized by Vote For the Worst, a website that urges its readers to vote for the Idol that the website creators view as the least talented. So we'll just quote from their blurb:
This is hysterical. On The O'Reilly Factor, civil litigator Danielle Aidala makes incredibly stupid arguments about how she could sue this website. The arguments are actually even stupider than the rationale from the 12 year olds who write to us, so it's a pretty funny way to waste five minutes if you're bored.
And here's the video. It's also up on YouTube, where it's described as follows: "Danielle Aidala is a babe."
(We agree with that sentiment -- which may explain how Aidala wound up on Fox News. Fox seems to specialize in giving airtime to attractive female commentators with, umm, provocative or contrarian views.)
P.S. Danielle Aidala, in case you're wondering, went to NYU for undergrad and Fordham for law school. Here's her New York Times wedding announcement. She is not to be confused with Dianna Abdala, of "bla bla bla" fame.
Idiot Lawyer Danielle Aidala Thinks VFTW/Stern Can Be Successfully Sued [VoteForTheWorst.com]
Howard Stern / shock jocks helping Sanjaya stay on the show [YouTube]
"American Idol" -- the final 9 [Althouse]
"Malakar is the rare male performer who relies so utterly on styling." [Althouse]










Comments
Wow. She is awful. "This is equivalent to libel and slander" WHAT?
Tried to martindale her, nothing to be found. Found this though: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E3D91038F937A35754C0A9629C8B63.
Apparently she went to NYU. How embarrassing.
Posted by: Carl | April 4, 2007 12:27 PM
I kind of like Sanjaya's voice.
Posted by: anon | April 4, 2007 12:31 PM
WOW! That woman's argument is laughable. I'd like to see her prove damages. She probably just wants to get paid for bringing a class action. This might be the only time I've ever agreed with Bill O'Reilly.
Posted by: MLaw 2L | April 4, 2007 12:31 PM
Encouraging people to vote for the worst Idol candidate is "like libel or slander?" I hate Stern, but I'd rep him pro bono just so I could file the Rule 11 motion on that BS.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 12:32 PM
All she said was that Fox could sue. Of course they could sue. She never said they're certain to win, or how much they would win.
Posted by: Loyola 2L | April 4, 2007 12:33 PM
And Sanjaya is very very pretty. That hair! Those eyes! Sigh...
Posted by: Gurl | April 4, 2007 12:34 PM
I read it to mean that she went to NYU undergrad and Fordham law.
Posted by: NYU 08 | April 4, 2007 12:44 PM
Listening to her voice makes me want to fall on a rusty knife
Posted by: Gordon Gekko | April 4, 2007 12:44 PM
who cares what she says; she's hot!
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 12:51 PM
Right on, 12:32. This cries out for a Rule 11 benchslapping if a suit gets filed.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 01:00 PM
Wow. She's very attractive.
Also... wow, her argument is awful and she manages to make O'Reilly look intelligent and reasonable.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 01:09 PM
Wow, she wants to bring a class action suit on behalf of 11 contestants? You can't do that - or for that matter bring a class action on behalf of the american public against Howard Stern
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 01:12 PM
Yet another idiotic NYU grad. I told you peoples Columbia is the real deal. NYU is an overrated poser.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 01:26 PM
this woman is an idiot.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 01:27 PM
what an idiot. Perfect match for O'Reilly
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 01:53 PM
They're gonna pull us right out of the T25 for this.
Posted by: Fordham Law Grad | April 4, 2007 01:57 PM
What a dopey bunny
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 02:37 PM
Her husband is a Court Street regular. And an O'Reilly presence as well.
http://www.aidalalaw.com/html/manhattan-criminal-defense-attorneys.html
Posted by: brooklyner | April 4, 2007 02:47 PM
The tepid reaction here to such a horrific legal analysis, and the corresponding focus on her looks, reminds me of the judge's assessment of Haley Scarnato last night. They couldn't even summon the will the to criticize her, she was so bad. So they offered, instead, a transparently backhanded compliment: "Well, you have nice legs." Poor Danielle. Can she be reported to the bar for this?
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 03:13 PM
O'Reilly probably had her on just to make himself look good. What a moron. "But Judge so-and-so, we should recover, because, because... it's just not fair!" dum-dum.
Posted by: . | April 4, 2007 03:21 PM
med mal associate, in over her head:
http://www.hpmb.com/bio/print_bio.php?atr_id=132
Posted by: brooklyner | April 4, 2007 03:38 PM
She was playing devil's advocate. You could tell she didn't believe her own argument. Someone put her up to it and hey, it was free publicity. I probably would have done the same thing. But then again, I am the Prince of Darkness...
Posted by: Lucifer | April 4, 2007 04:04 PM
The husband's web site is great, www.aidalalaw.com is truly Gallion-esque. I like the references to Mr. Aidala as "the Counselor."
Posted by: P.T. Barnum | April 4, 2007 05:11 PM
Even better is the bio of his colleague, Mr. Baratta, who is called "the councelor."
If you look at the video appearances, there's also a great switcheroo between 12/06 and 1/07.
And in the second one, he refers to a case about handing over exculpatory evidence called "United State v. Brady." Maybe that's too nitpicky.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 06:20 PM
wow she is terrible
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 06:30 PM
Haha, wow, her husband's site is hilarious!
And yea, she's a moron.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 06:51 PM
hahaha -- wow an office in "Italy, EU"! Aidala's brooklyn-based criminal practice definitely must have some "connections."
Posted by: anonymoys | April 4, 2007 07:03 PM
7:03 -- u mean "gunnections"
Posted by: Anonymous | April 4, 2007 07:24 PM
libel or slander????? what the????? she didn't even sound like a real lawyer. is she really a lawyer? does anyone know if she really went to law school???
Posted by: anon | April 4, 2007 07:56 PM
It's time to do what we did to gallion and spielvogel to this new website
Posted by: anon | April 4, 2007 08:52 PM
The Law Offices of Arthur L. Aidala & Associates P.C. is a prestigious, full-service civil law and criminal defense law firm, covering a broad practice area. Our firm's New York City law offices are located in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with an associated office in Milan, Italy. Our lawyers represent individuals, corporations, and privately owned companies. The Law Offices of Arthur L. Aidala & Associates criminal defense practice includes all types of misdemeanor and felony criminal charges such as grand larceny, murder, rape, assault, drugs, narcotics, DUI, DWI, theft, auto accidents, mail, wire, stock fraud and other white collar crimes. The firm's civil practice is equally diverse, encompassing real estate law, real estate litigation, estate planning, wills and probates, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) compliance, registration and private placement, personal and workplace injury, slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, product liability, commercial and civil litigation, class action suits, arbitration and mediation dispute resolution, and employment issues, such as sexual harassment and discrimination.
Posted by: anon | April 4, 2007 08:54 PM
PAINFUL.
Posted by: Richie Cunningham | April 5, 2007 08:47 AM
Dirty tricks, antitrust laws?
Posted by: Richie C. | April 5, 2007 08:48 AM
Please note that she went to NYU for undergrad. NYU Law is at a completely different level than all the other schools at the university. She is not to be related in any way to NYU Law.... if you're doing that, you're just a fucking retard that does not understand that admissions standards for different schools and faculties within a university may vary widely (Just look at Yale Law and Yale Business School).
Posted by: NYU Law | April 5, 2007 09:51 AM
As a friend of the Aidala's, I just want to say in their defense ... Oh wait, nvm. They're total idiots.
Posted by: not your friend | April 5, 2007 02:43 PM
Arthur Aidala is a fucking idiot. What a pompous ass. Hope he fucking dies.
Posted by: Tommo | April 6, 2007 02:19 PM
i'd let her blow me and laugh at that video clip while she's sucking me off.
Posted by: c. rude humpertits | May 2, 2007 02:56 PM