Bill > HR4678

This bill, known as the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act of 2025, aims to limit how a defendant's creative or artistic expression can be used as evidence against them in legal proceedings. Specifically, the bill proposes adding a new rule to the Federal Rules of Evidence that would generally prohibit using a person's artistic works (such as music, poetry, film, or visual art) as evidence in criminal or civil cases. However, the prosecution could potentially introduce such evidence if they can prove in a separate hearing, by clear and convincing evidence, that the artistic expression has a literal meaning directly related to the specific facts of the case, is relevant to a disputed issue, and provides unique probative value not available through other evidence. If such evidence is admitted, the court must carefully redact the artistic expression to minimize prejudicial content and provide the jury with clear instructions about how to interpret the evidence. The bill seeks to protect artistic expression from being unfairly used to characterize or incriminate a defendant, recognizing that creative works often involve fictional, metaphorical, or imaginative elements that should not be taken as literal statements of fact or intent.

Justice

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4678/all-info