The jury has reached a mixed verdict in the Lori Drew “cyber-bullying” case. Drew was acquitted of any felonies, but convicted of misdemeanor charges. The bottom line is that violating the terms of service agreement of a website (which virtually no one even reads) is now a federal crime.
I find this case very troubling. Drew is scum, to be sure, but if she didn’t commit a crime, that should be the end of it from a legal perspective. In this case, there was no Missouri law under which to prosecute Drew, so federal prosecutors took over on the grounds that MySpace is headquartered in another state. They then concocted a novel legal theory under which to prosecute her and were able to obtain a conviction.
Beware. If the government wants to send you to jail, they can find a legal pretext to do it, and the victims of the government’s persecution aren’t always as deserving as Lori Drew.
UPDATE: If you’re ever being prosecuted, you’re much better off being charged with committing a particular criminal act, like murder. Then you can convince a jury you didn’t do that particular act and get off. (Even if you’re guilty!) You’re in trouble when the facts are largely not in dispute, and the issue is the legal theory to support an obscure charge.
Internet Scofflaw 