Ken McKenna (attorney)

Ken McKenna
Born	May 3, 1953(1953-05-03) Reno, Nevada, U.S.

Kenneth J. McKenna (born May 3, 1953) is an American attorney. He was counsel for the plaintiff in the "Judas Priest case" where he represented the family of a young man who had committed suicide; the family sued Judas Priest and CBS records, alleging that the Judas Priest album Stained Class had contained subliminal messages, and that these had compelled the young man to commit suicide.

Background

McKenna was born in Reno, Nevada. He grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. McKenna received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific in 1980. He was admitted to the Nevada State Bar in 1980 and went into solo practice. McKenna maintains a litigation practice in Reno, Nevada. It was reported by the IRS that in 2010 Ken McKenna, a well-known Reno lawyer, has been charged with two federal misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes. The case was resolved with Mr. McKenna accepting responsibility for the late tax payments.^{[citation needed]}

Criminal defense cases

McKenna began his criminal trial attorney career defending his older brother Patrick McKenna on the charge of Murder in the First Degree.

In 2003, a jury decided to not give the death penalty to Larry Peck, a man convicted of shooting a police officer in the chest with a high powered rifle during a stand-off. McKenna's arguing for life in this case, which was expected to result in the death penalty, raised McKenna's visibility among death penalty opponents nationwide. McKenna is an opponent of the death penalty, saying it is "a barbaric and a misused tool of self aggrandizing prosecutors with political ambition, which serves no useful purpose to society, but sustains people's baser instincts."

Judas Priest trial

McKenna represented the mother of Ray Belknap, a young man who had committed suicide allegedly after repeatedly listening to the Judas Priest album Stained Class.

McKenna argued that a series of subliminal messages stating "do it" were embedded in the song "Better By You, Better Than Me". McKenna alleged that these messages, combined with the song, caused the suicide.

The three-week trial was watched closely by the music industry and constitutional lawyers. In a pre-trial motion, the judge ruled that subliminal messages were incapable of being protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, since they were by definition not noticeable and thus could not form part of a dialogue. Timothy Moore, who testified on Judas Priest's behalf, stated that the plaintiffs (led by McKenna) achieved "a major victory in getting the case to trial in the first place;" The case was dismissed, with the finding that any subliminal messages within the recording were not responsible for the suicides. However, the Judge did award $40,000 in sanctions against CBS.

Political career

McKenna won the District 8 seat on the Nevada State Board of Education in 2009. McKenna ran for the House of Representatives in Nevada's second congressional district in the 2010 Democratic primary. He lost to Nancy Price while collecting 44.51% of the vote. On August 10, 2010, McKenna resigned from the State Board of Education.

External links

• Official site