Shepard Fairey, the artist who is responsible for the Obama "Hope" poster (or partially responsible) has a pending criminal investigation against him. The Associated Press (AP) accused the artist of using one of their photographs when he created the famous poster.
ArtInfo reports that while the criminal case has not started yet, the AP had received a grand jury subpoena. FindLaw explains that a grand jury is used before a trial happens "to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to bring a person to trial." If the grand jury were to find that there was sufficient information that a suspect should be held accountable for a crime, then the criminal trial would start.
The New York Times reported that in a letter it was written that the hearing on Tuesday was sealed because, "the motion relates to a grand jury investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office... an open hearing on these issues would risk compromising the confidential nature of the criminal investigation."
It is possible that the criminal investigation stems from Fairey admitting to lying in court papers and creating false documents to add support to that lie: that he did not use the AP photograph of President Obama for his poster.
When he admitted to his errors he said, "I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment, and I take full responsibility for my actions, which were mine alone."
Related Resources:
- Copyright Laws (FindLaw)
- NY Criminal Defense Attorney (FindLaw)
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