Thug Life Army

Former Detroit officials can proceed with part of a lawsuit against hip-hop rap icon Dr. Dre that accuses him of improperly videotaping a backstage conversation at a concert, the state appeals court said in a ruling released Wednesday.

The employees, including police officers and the press secretary for former Mayor Dennis Archer; went to Joe Louis Arena on July 6, 2000, to demand that the hip-hop rapper producer Dr. Dre not show an eight-minute video introduction to concertgoers because it contained inappropriate material for minors.

The video wasn''t shown, but recordings of conversations between the Detroit officials and concert representatives later were used in behind-the-scenes tracks on a popular DVD highlighting the "Up in Smoke Tour." Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young; along with fellow rap artists Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Eminem were part the national gangster rap tour.

After the officials sued alleging eavesdropping, invasion of privacy and fraud; a Wayne County judge dismissed the case in 2003.

The appeals court reversed the eavesdropping portion of the decision, though, and said further evidence should be gathered. The court said unedited versions of the recordings should be reviewed because it's "quite possible" the meeting was secretly taped since it appears the person being recorded wasn''t speaking to someone holding a video camera.

Glenn Oliver, an attorney for the Detroit officials, said Dr. Dre and other rappers knew they were breaking the law.

"The next time they come back to Detroit, it won''t be for a concert," he said. "It will be to appear before a jury."

Earlier this month, a Detroit federal judge dismissed a separate suit filed by the officials against Dr. Dre, saying Wayne County Circuit Judge John Murphy had resolved the matter.

But the state appeals court ruling may revive the federal case, an attorney for Dr. Dre said.

The attorney, Herschel Fink, said he will ask U.S. District Judge Paul Gadola of Flint to consider the federal case on its merits because the necessary evidence already has been gathered.

"You have no expectation of privacy when you are a police officer acting in an unconstitutional manner," said Fink, arguing that city officials violated his client's free speech rights when they tried to block him from showing the concert video.

Fink also said everyone knew the cameras were rolling and called the lawsuit bogus.

"It's simply a stupid case. It's a silly case," he said.

Judges Patrick Meter, Donald Owens and Christopher Murray issued opinions for the Michigan Court of Appeals. They mostly agreed on the end result, but split over whether to dismiss from the case retailers and others who distributed the DVD.

Murray and Owens agreed with the lower court judge and said those companies had no reasonable belief that the DVD was produced without others'' consent.