Rapper claims judge wrongly considered lyrics in trial

By The Associated Press

07.08.02

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A hip-hop artist convicted on federal weapons charges is seeking a new trial, claiming that the judge and jury were improperly influenced by his lyrics.

Patrick Houston, who has sold more than a million records as Project Pat, was convicted last month in federal court in Jackson of being a felon in possession of a gun.

In a filing to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, defense attorneys argue that Judge Robert H. Cleland, a visiting federal jurist from Detroit, allowed images of guns and gangsters in Houston's music to be used unfairly.

During the trial, Houston's lawyers tried to limit questions about rap music or his lyrics on a claim of "protected speech." The defense also objected to using the term "gangsta rap," which prosecutors argued referred specifically to Houston's style of music.

The judge sentenced Houston to four years and three months in prison.

"We contend ... (Cleland) increased the sentence as a result of the lyrics of some of Mr. Houston's songs," defense attorney John E. Herbison of Nashville said this week. "I have some concerns ... as to whether that violates the First Amendment."

Houston, a state felon convicted of aggravated robbery, was arrested in January 2001 when Memphis police looking for stolen sport utility vehicles pulled him over and found two loaded revolvers under a front floor mat in his Cadillac Escalade.

Officer Michael McCord testified that Houston admitted the guns were his and said he needed them because he was a rapper.

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