Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
As those who learned they will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year receive congratulatory messages from numerous friends and colleagues, the seven artists who were passed over for induction are likely get messages from friends and supporters along the lines of “you were robbed” or “you’ll get in eventually.”
If you missed the announcement on American Idol on Sunday night (April 27), Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden and The White Stripes are this year’s inductees in the performer category. Salt-N-Pepa and Warren Zevon are set to receive the musical influence award; Philly Soul producer Thom Bell, English studio pianist/organist Nicky Hopkins and studio bass guitarist Carol Kaye will receive the musical excellence award; and producer and executive Lenny Waronker will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
The other seven nominees in the performer category were denied admission to the Rock Hall – this year, anyway. Oasis and Mariah Carey were both passed over for the second year in a row. Both were surprising snubs – Oasis is reuniting for a global tour in 2025; Carey’s profile, never low, has been boosted in recent years by her status as the uncontested Queen of Christmas. Of the other passed-over artists, Joy Division/New Order were previously on the ballot in 2023; this was the first time on the ballot for The Black Crowes, Billy Idol, Maná and Phish.
Trending on Billboard
The voters showed no love for brother acts this year. Oasis includes Liam and Noel Gallagher; The Black Crowes includes Chris and Rich Robinson.
Maná was vying to become the first rock en español act to make the Rock Hall. Joy Division/New Order was vying to join the short list of two related acts being inducted in tandem, following Parliament/Funkadelic in 1997 and The Small Faces/Faces in 2012.
Phish, which won this year’s fan vote, has never landed a Hot 100 hit, but the band is a powerhouse live attraction, as evidenced when it played the Sphere in Las Vegas in April 2024.
Idol was a mainstay of early MTV – as was Lauper, who did get in. In an interview with Vulture, Idol said of his guitarist Steve Stevens, “Because of our special relationship, if I get in, they will induct him as well.” This would have echoed Pat Benatar’s induction three years ago, where the Rock Hall inducted both Benatar and her husband and musical partner, Neil Giraldo. But it’s academic, as Idol didn’t make it this year.
Critics and pundits are already weighing in with their opinions, but we want to hear from you: Which of the seven artists who were nominated in the performer category, only to be passed over, do you think constitutes the biggest snub? They’re listed here in alphabetical order. Vote!
Take Our Poll
Chubby Checker, whose “The Twist” was a global smash in 1960, has been eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since the first class was inducted in 1986, but he was never even nominated until this year. Despite having been ignored for decades, he made it in his first time on the ballot.
So did first-time nominees Bad Company, Joe Cocker and Outkast, as well as Cyndi Lauper and The White Stripes, who had each been nominated once before, and Soundgarden, which had been nominated twice before. These seven acts were all inducted in the performer category.
The inductees were announced by Ryan Seacrest on ABC’s American Idol on Sunday night (April 27).
Trending on Billboard
There are six other inductees this year in other categories. Salt-N-Pepa and Warren Zevon are set to receive the musical influence award; Philly Soul producer Thom Bell, English studio pianist/organist Nicky Hopkins and studio bass guitarist Carole Kaye (who was part of the fabled Wrecking Crew of top L.A. studio musicians) will receive the musical excellence award; and producer and label executive Lenny Waronker will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Sadly, several of these people didn’t live to see their inductions. Hopkins died in 1994 at age 50; Zevon in 2003 at 56; Chris Cornell of Soundgarden in 2017 at 52; and Bell in 2022 at 79.
Checker had to wait even longer for induction than Cher, who was finally inducted last year, 59 years after Sonny & Cher’s breakthrough smash “I Got You Babe.”
With Outkast and Salt-N-Pepa both being inducted this year, this is the sixth consecutive year that one or more rap acts has been in the induction class.
With Lauper, Salt-N-Pepa, Meg White of The White Stripes and Carol Kaye being inducted this year, this is the fourth consecutive year that four or more female acts were in the induction class.
Bell won the first Grammy Award ever presented for producer of the year, non-classical, in 1975. By coincidence, Waronker was among the other nominees in the category that year. Waronker was also nominated for record of the year that year for producing Maria Muldaur’s classy and sexy “Midnight at the Oasis.” Waronker’s many other hits as a producer include Gordon Lightfoot’s Hot 100-topping “Sundown,” Rickie Lee Jones’ “Chuck E.’s in Love” and Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.,” which Dawes performed as the opening song on this year’s Grammy telecast.
Carol Kaye, 90, is this year’s oldest inductee. Checker and Waronker are both 83, but will both be 84 by the time of the Nov. 8 induction ceremony.
All of the artists who were induced in the performer category have landed top five albums on the Billboard 200. Three of them reached No. 1: Bad Company (Bad Company, 1974), Outkast (Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, 2003) and Soundgarden (Superunknown, 1994). Three more reached No. 2: Chubby Checker (Your Twist Party, 1962), Joe Cocker (Mad Dogs and Englishmen, 1970) and The White Stripes (Icky Thump, 2007). Lauper climbed as high as No. 4 twice, with She’s So Unusual in 1984 and True Colors in 1986.
Both of the artists who are receiving musical influence awards made the top 10. Salt-N-Pepa reached No. 4 with Very Necessary in 1994. Zevon hit No. 8 with Excitable Boy in 1978.
Lauper won the Grammy for best new artist in 1985. She’s the sixth artist who was a past winner of that award to go on to a Rock Hall induction.
Outkast won the Grammy for album of the year in 2004 for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. André 3000 was nominated again in that category at this year’s ceremony for New Blue Sun.
Two of the inducted acts are duos – Outkast (André 3000 and Big Boi) and The White Stripes (Jack White and Meg White).
The other seven nominees in the performer category were denied admission to the Rock Hall – this year, anyway. Oasis and Mariah Carey were both passed over for the second year in a row. Both were surprising snubs – Oasis is reuniting for a global tour in 2025; Carey’s profile, never low, has been boosted in recent years by her status as the uncontested Queen of Christmas. Of the other passed-over artists, Joy Division/New Order were previously on the ballot in 2023; this was the first time on the ballot for The Black Crowes, Billy Idol, Maná and Phish.
The voters showed no love for brother acts this year. Oasis includes Liam and Noel Gallagher; The Black Crowes includes Chris and Rich Robinson.
Maná was vying to become the first rock en español act to make the Rock Hall. Joy Division/New Order was vying to join the short list of two related acts being inducted in tandem, following Parliament/Funkadelic in 1997 and The Small Faces/Faces in 2012.
Phish, which won this year’s fan vote, has never landed a Hot 100 hit, but the band is a powerhouse live attraction, as evidenced when it played the Sphere in Las Vegas in April 2024.
Idol was a mainstay of early MTV – as was Lauper, who did get in. In an interview with Vulture, Idol said of his guitarist Steve Stevens, “Because of our special relationship, if I get in, they will induct him as well.” This would have echoed Pat Benatar’s induction three years ago, where the Rock Hall inducted both Benatar and her husband and musical partner, Neil Giraldo. But it’s academic, as Idol didn’t make it this year.
The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction will be live on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. The 2025 ceremony will once again stream live on Disney+, with a special airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day. The 2024 ceremony aired on New Year’s Day.
Here’s the full list of 2025 inductees:
Performer Category
Bad Company
Chubby Checker
Joe Cocker
Cyndi Lauper
Outkast
Soundgarden
The White Stripes
Musical Influence Award
Salt-N-Pepa
Warren Zevon
Musical Excellence Award
Thom Bell
Nicky Hopkins
Carol Kaye
Ahmet Ertegun Award
Lenny Waronker
Fans will have to wait until Sunday (April 27) to find out if Phish makes it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year on its first try, but the veteran jam band’s enthusiasts showed their support. The band won the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fan vote, receiving 329,000-plus votes — nearly 50,000 more than runner-up Bad Company, who got 280,725.
The top five finishers in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Fan Vote will have their results counted alongside ballots from more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry professionals to help determine the Class of 2025. Joining Phish and Bad Company in the fan vote’s top five are Billy Idol (260K votes), Cyndi Lauper (nearly 237K), and Joe Cocker (233K).
Trending on Billboard
As was announced Monday, Ryan Seacrest will announce this year’s inductees into the Rock Hall on a live episode of American Idol on Sunday. James Taylor will serve as mentor on the episode, on which this year’s contestants will perform songs associated with past Rock Hall inductees.
Soundgarden just missed the top five in the fan vote, receiving about 300 fewer votes than Cocker. They were followed by Chubby Checker (203K), The Black Crowes (165K), Mariah Carey (nearly 138K), Joy Division and New Order (120K), The White Stripes (110K), OutKast (108K), Oasis (99K) and Maná (34K).
Phish has had an unorthodox career. The band has yet to put a single on the Billboard Hot 100 and has received just one Grammy nomination — best rock instrumental performance for “First Tube” in 2001. But the band has put 38 albums on the Billboard 200, including three that made the top 10 — Billy Breathes (No. 7 in 1996), The Story of the Ghost (No. 8 in 1998) and Fuego (No. 7 in 2014).
The band has had its greatest radio success in the adult alternative format. It has had four top 10 hits on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart — “Free” (No. 7 in 1996), “Heavy Things” (No. 2 in 2000), “The Connection” (No. 2 in 2004) and “Backwards Down the Number Line” (No. 9 in 2009).
And the band is a powerhouse live attraction, as evidenced when it played the Sphere in Las Vegas in April 2024.
The 2025 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be announced on a live episode of American Idol on Sunday (April 27). Show host Ryan Seacrest will make the eagerly awaited announcement. James Taylor, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2000, will serve as a mentor on the episode, on […]
Mexican superstars Maná have made history by being the first Spanish-language act to receive a nomination to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The band, composed of Fher Olvera, Alex González, Sergio Vallín and Juan Calleros, has left an indelible mark on music, not only in Latin America but globally, through their career spanning more than three decades.
Since their formation in Guadalajara, Jalisco, the quartet has captured the hearts and minds of millions with their lyrics full of passion and their sound that mixes rock, pop and pan-Latin rhythms. With this nomination, they celebrate a milestone not just in their career, but for music in Spanish too. (Fans can cast a vote for Maná’s induction into the Hall of Fame here.)
The band made their debut on the Billboard charts in 1994 with their seminal album Dónde Jugarán los Niños, which reached No. 2 on the Top Latin Albums chart. Their success continued to grow and, over the years, they have managed to position 10 of their songs at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, including classics like “Mariposa Traicionera” and “Labios Compartidos.”
These tracks, along with other timeless hits not on this list — such as “Oye Mi Amor,” “Rayando el Sol” and “Clavado en un Bar” — have solidified the Mexican rockers as one of the most influential bands in Latin music. Although the Hot Latin Songs chart, which started in 1986, is the barometer of success in the Latin market — combining data from radio plays, streaming, and digital sales — their achievements go beyond certifications and accolades. They have connected with a worldwide audience through their philanthropic efforts aimed at social justice and peace.
“We want to share this recognition with all Latinos everywhere, especially the immigrants who are suffering right now,” frontman Fher Olvera said in a statement about their nomination. “Don’t lose faith. Our people always find a way. Maná loves you. We’ll always be here standing with you.”
In honor of their nomination to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Billboard Español has compiled their 10 songs that have topped the chart, in chronological order.
“Mariposa Traicionera”
Image Credit: Bernardo Flores
About four months ago, Billy Idol was in Cleveland to sing “No More Tears” as part of Ozzy Osbourne’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Asked backstage about Osbourne’s comment that Idol himself should be inducted, he noted that, “It was really lovely of him to say so. It would be really incredible.”
Now it may indeed be Idol’s turn.
The man born William Broad in England, made famous as part of Generation X and then a solo career that’s notched hits such as “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell,” “Eyes Without a Face” and “Dancing With Myself,” is one of eight first-timers out of 14 nominees on this year’s Rock Hall ballot, which was announced Wednesday morning (Feb. 12). Public voting is underway at vote.rockhall.com, and the inductees are expected to be announced during late April, with the ceremony held this fall in Los Angeles.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Idol told Billboard via phone from Los Angeles. “I’m really knocked out. It’s really fantastic, and what a great honor just to be included with those other fellow artists on that list. It caught me by surprise today, and I was completely bowled over.”
Trending on Billboard
Idol has been eligible since 2006 as a solo artist, but he said he’s never thought of himself as slighted or overlooked. “Well, there’s so many great people who have yet to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — someone like [fellow nominee] Joe Cocker, for instance,” he noted. “So of course you don’t tend to think about yourself.
“I think in some ways it’s a big thank-you to the fans, who really have stuck with you through thick and thin — sometimes more thin than thick. But they’ve really stuck with you. In some ways, if you’re in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, they are [too].”
Idol began his career as a guitar player in the punk band Chelsea before forming Generation X with guitarist Tony James in 1976. The group released four albums and had British hits with “Your Generation,” “King Rocker” and “Valley of the Dolls” before breaking up in early 1981. Idol then moved to New York, working with former Kiss manager Bill Aucoin. His first EP, Don’t Stop, featured a remake of Generation X’s “Dancing With Myself” and a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Mony Mony,” but his self-titled 1982 debut was the real breakthrough, going gold on the strength of “White Wedding” and “Hot in the City,” and a warm embrace from MTV.
That helped make Rebel Yell even bigger in 1983, a double-platinum, top 10 Billboard 200 smash that turned Idol into an arena-sized headliner.
“It’s just kind of incredible ’cause you never could have imagined this when you began,” said Idol, who’s released eight studio albums total and has another coming this year, with details expected to be announced soon. “When we started out in punk rock, we really were doing it for the love. We thought this might last six minutes, six months, maybe a year, maybe two years. We’re nearly talking about 50 years now.
“Look, if you do something for the right reasons, it can take you the whole way. Just to have lived this life, to have this musical life, at one point it was a dream. To get to live your dream, that’s pretty incredible.”
Idol has been in the Rock Hall already via one of his Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which is on display in the museum in Cleveland. He visited during October’s induction festivities and reports that “it’s beautiful seeing it there. They’ve done a good job of taking care of it.”
The Osbourne induction, Idol adds, was “really good fun. Playing with [producer] Andrew Watt and Wolfgang Van Halen and everybody, it was an incredible night. The vibe amongst everybody was fantastic, and to feel the sort of energy and excitement of the fans being there. Just getting to thank the fans is an incredible moment.”
While the Rock Hall voting is going on, Idol will be rolling out the new album and prepping for the It’s A Nice Day To…Tour Again! trek that kicks off April 30 in Phoenix and runs through late September. Idol will be joined by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, reconnecting with someone he met during a Generation X press tour back in 1978.
“We ended up in L.A., watching the Germs and Black Flag at the Whisky a Go Go with Joan and about 20 other girls [in] go-go boots and short mini-skirts,” Idol recalls. “It was great meeting her. It should be a really fantastic [tour], a good time.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has unveiled its 2025 nominees, and while every person and band on the list is more than deserving to be welcomed into the institution’s esteemed ranks, only a few can be.
As announced Wednesday (Feb. 12), the names on this year’s ballot include Mariah Carey, Oasis, Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes. Eight of those acts — Bad Company, the Black Crowes, Checker, Cocker, Idol, Maná, Outkast and Phish — are first-time nominees, while the other six have been in RRHOF consideration in years past.
Those names will now be narrowed down by an international panel of more than 1,200 artists, historians and music industry players, with a fan-voted element factored in. That group’s selected nominees will be revealed in April, as well as whether they’ll be entering in the musical influence or musical excellence categories. An induction ceremony in Los Angeles will follow in the fall, coming one year after the 2024 class comprised of Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest was inaugurated into the hallowed Rock Hall.
Trending on Billboard
But while the list of nominees chosen for immortalization in the coveted hall of fame is largely up to panelists, Billboard wants to know who you would select from this year’s shortlist. Tell us who you most want to see inducted into the RRHOF by casting your vote below.
After decades of eligibility, Bad Company’s future in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seemed to be, as the song says, a “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy.”
Now the English supergroup finds itself nominated for the Rock Hall’s class of 2025, one of eight first-timers on the shortlist of 14.
“Bad Company fans and friends have been lobbying for this nomination persistently for years and they never gave up, so big thanks to them,” frontman Paul Rodgers tells Billboard. “According to them, Bad Company fits all of the criteria and then some to be inducted.” Drummer Simon Kirke, however, is more inclined to also note that it’s about time.
“I think it’s been a long time coming,” he says from his current home in New York City. “It has rankled me a bit. We’ve been around a long time and we’ve influenced a lot of bands, and I think it’s a place that we deserve. I’m just pleased that we’re at least on the ballot. I’m happy and I’m honored, and fingers crossed that we make it.”
Formed during 1973 in London, Bad Company brought together Rodgers and Kirke from Free, guitarist Mick Ralphs from Mott the Hoople and bassist Boz Burrell, fresh out of King Crimson. The group was managed by the legendary Peter Grant and signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label. Its self-titled 1974 debut hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, going five-times platinum and launching enduring rock radio hits such as “Can’t Get Enough” (No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100), “Movin’ On” (No. 19) and the song “Bad Company.”
Four of the band’s other 11 studio albums went platinum or better, as did the 1985 compilation 10 From 6. All told Bad Company sold more than 40 million records worldwide, with a cadre of other top 40 Hot 100 hits such as “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Young Blood,” “Shooting Star” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy.”
Trending on Billboard
“Leaving behind those three bands that had become a bit of a millstone around our necks, there was certainly an element of hope and a fresh start,” Kirke recalls. “We just basically wanted a fresh start from our old bands, so it was like a phoenix rising from the ashes. I remember when Paul started singing these songs that Mick had written, ‘Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘Ready For Love’…it was really exciting. We just hoped that it was something that would be around for awhile, and here we are 50 years later.”
Rodgers, who splits time between British Columbia and Palm Springs, Calif., says he and Ralphs actually had different visions at the outset of Bad Company. “(Ralphs) recently told me that he thought that we would form a duo like the Everly Brothers. This was a surprise to me,” he says. “For myself after Free imploded…I was determined that my next band would have the best management and we did. Peter Grant was the most powerful, creative manager at the time and he was a large, large part of Bad Company’s success. It is particularly obvious to me now as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, and I look around and hear so many talented musicians who are not getting the break they need to reach the masses. I hope they find their Peter Grant.”
The original Bad Company foursome came to a stop in 1982. Ralphs and Kirke resumed from 1986-99 with a succession of other musicians — and had some success with the platinum Holy Water album in 1990 and singles such as the title track, “How About That,” “If You Needed Somebody” and “No Smoke Without Fire.” The original foursome reunited during 1989-99, playing live and releasing four new songs on The ‘Original’ Bad Co. Anthology. Burrell passed away in 1999 from a heart attack at 60, and Rodgers and Kirke reformed Bad Company two years later, with Ralphs coming back on board from 2008-2016, when a stroke rendered him unable to continue touring. (Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, also nominated for the Rock Hall this year, was an additional guitarist during 2016).
Bad Company last toured during 2019, and Kirke confirms that “I think it’s safe to say (the band’s) playing days are pretty much over.”
He and Rodgers are still active, however. Though Rodgers is also battling health issues — he’s suffered several strokes since 2016 and 2019 — he released the solo album Midnight Rose during 2023 and is continuing to write new material. Kirke, meanwhile, has written a stage musical about addiction that’s currently being shopped and is planning to record his fourth solo album during the spring.
Both men, and likely Ralphs, will be watching the Rock Hall voting period play out, too — if not with bated breath, then certainly with interest. “My hope,” Rodgers says, “is if we are going to be inducted, let it be while Mick is still here. I do hope that the induction happens while Mick can experience, it too.”
The 2025 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame were revealed early Wednesday (Feb. 12) morning. Of the 14 nominees who appear on this year’s ballot, only some of them (likely about half) will be inducted into the institution later this year as the Rock Hall’s Class of 2025. Explore Explore See latest […]
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame wants a federal judge to toss out a copyright lawsuit over an image of Eddie Van Halen, arguing that it made legal fair use of the image by using it as part of a museum exhibit designed to “educate the public about the history of rock and roll music.”
The lawsuit, filed last year, claims the Rock Hall never paid to license Neil Zlozower’s image — a black-and-white photo of late-’70s Van Halen in the recording studio — before blowing it up into an eight-foot-tall display in the Cleveland museum.
But in a motion to dismiss the case filed Tuesday (Jan. 21), the Rock Hall says it didn’t need to. Attorneys for the museum say the offending exhibit was protected by “fair use”, a rule that allows copyrighted works to be reused legally in many contexts, including education and commentary.
Trending on Billboard
“RRHOF transformed plaintiff’s original band photograph by using it as a historical artifact to underscore the importance of Eddie Van Halen’s musical instruments,” the Hall’s attorneys write. “RRHOF operates a museum, and it displayed the image in service of its charitable mission to educate the public about the history of rock and roll music.”
Zlozower filed his case in October, claiming the Hall made an “exact copy of a critical portion of plaintiff’s original image” for the exhibit, which he claimed “did not include any photo credit or mentions as to the source of the image.”
The Rock Hall is just the latest company to face such a lawsuit from Zlozower, who also snapped images of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen over a decades-long career. Since 2016, court records show he’s filed nearly 60 copyright cases against a range of defendants over images of Elvis Costello, Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe and more.
In the current dispute, the Van Halen image was used in two exhibits: “Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll” and “Legends.” Focused on musical instruments used by famed rockers, the exhibits featured sections showing Van Halen’s guitars, amplifiers and other gear. In the display, the original photo of the band was cropped to show just Eddie holding one of the guitars, which was placed amid the exhibit’s objects and informational placards.
In their motion to dismiss the case, the Rock Hall’s attorneys say the museum made a “transformative use” of Zlozower’s original image — a key question when courts decide fair use. They say the Hall used it not simply as an image of the band, but “to contextualize Eddie Van Halen’s instruments on display in the museum as historical artifacts.”
“RRHOF incorporated a portion of plaintiff’s photograph displayed next to the exhibition object, as one piece of source material to document and represent the use of the guitar,” the museum’s lawyers write. “This proximal association between source material and exhibition object helps visitors connect information and delve more deeply into the exhibition objects.”
In making that argument, the Hall’s attorneys had a handy piece of legal precedent to cite: A 2021 ruling by a federal appeals court tossed out a copyright lawsuit against New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art over the use of another image of Van Halen in a different exhibit on the same famous set of guitars.
In making that ruling, the appeals court said the Met had clearly made “transformative” fair use of the image by displaying it alongside the exhibit: “Whereas [the photographer]’s stated purpose in creating the photo was to show ‘what Van Halen looks like in performance,’ the Met exhibition highlights the unique design of the Frankenstein guitar and its significance in the development of rock n’ roll instruments,” the appeals court wrote at the time.
That earlier ruling is not technically binding on the case against the Rock Hall, which takes place in another region of the federal court system. But such an uncannily on-point ruling could certainly be influential on the judge overseeing the current case.
An attorney for Zlozower did not immediately return a request for comment.