Lori Drew "Cyber-Stalker" Case Tossed

[The Minsky Moment]

Lori Drew was the adult woman who pretended to be a 16 year old boy online in order to torment her daughter's 13 year old friend.  The target of the abuse later committed suicide and the story was a staple of cable news and daytime talk for a few weeks.  And languish of course.

In a worrisome development, a federal criminal case was brought against Drew under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, on a legal theory that essentially would have criminalized the deliberate violation of a website's terms of service.  Drew was actually convicted by a federal jury but last month the judge indicated that he was going to toss the jury verdict on legal grounds.  The judge finally issued the written ruling today, and as expected, it finds the theory of prosecution to be untenable. 

[DontSayBanana]

As I recall, that case was the poster child for the crack-brained legislature to include "cyberbullying" in the penal code. Want to place any wagers on what'll happen with that?

[The Minsky Moment]

I have no idea what is going on in the legislatures but any kind of criminal law of that sort is going to have to be carefully drafted to pass constitutional muster.

[dps]

While the defendent in the case appears to be scum that deserves to be in prision, the legal theory that allowed the federal case to go forward was really stupid, so I'm glad the judge tossed it.  He really shouldn't have allowed it to come to trial in the first place, IMO.

[DGuller]

Just a general question: is encouraging someone to commit suicide a crime?

[The Minsky Moment]

Just a general question: is encouraging someone to commit suicide a crime?

It is in some states.  for example it is a felony in California.

[Jaron]

Just a general question: is encouraging someone to commit suicide a crime?

It is in some states.  for example it is a felony in California.

YEAH! So you guys better stop telling me to go shoot myself.

[DGuller]

It is in some states.  for example it is a felony in California.

So why didn't she get charged for that, instead of some creative idiocy that she was charged with?

[ulmont]

It is in some states.  for example it is a felony in California.

So why didn't she get charged for that, instead of some creative idiocy that she was charged with?

Lori Drew doesn't live in California, nor did the victim, for starters.

[Eddie Teach]

Just a general question: is encouraging someone to commit suicide a crime?

It is in some states.  for example it is a felony in California.

YEAH! So you guys better stop telling me to go shoot myself.

I don't think California has any jurisdiction over what non-residents say on the 'net.

[DGuller]

Lori Drew doesn't live in California, nor did the victim, for starters.

It says she did in the first sentence of the first post in this thread.  Is JR mistaken?

[Jaron]

Lori Drew doesn't live in California, nor did the victim, for starters.

It says she did in the first sentence of the first post in this thread.  Is JR mistaken?

As usual.

[The Minsky Moment]

Lori Drew doesn't live in California, nor did the victim, for starters.

It says she did in the first sentence of the first post in this thread.  Is JR mistaken?

yes.
fixed.

[Strix]

YEAH! So you guys better stop telling me to go shoot myself.

No one here would ever do that. We may encourage you to make sure your gun is functioning properly by looking down the barrel when you fire it but that's only to ensure the safety of the gun for use by making sure there are no obstructions in the barrel.

[Barrister]

I don't think California has any jurisdiction over what non-residents say on the 'net.

Well not being a Cali-called lawyer I can not state this with 100% certainty, but I am 99.999% sure you are wrong.