Judge Reduces Award in Tenenbaum Case
Judge Gertner of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts has released an opinion in which she found that the jury’s verdict of $675,000 to the RIAA violated Due Process, and reduced the award to $67,500, or $2,250 per song.
It’s a 64-page opinion. So, more to come.
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Posted in: Links on July 9, 2010
Sexting Injunction Upheld
We covered the first threatened sexting prosecutions, nearly a year ago. The principal case was a Pennsylvannia DA threating to prosecute teen-aged girls for sending provocative, though not pornographic, photos of themselves to friends, via MMS. (Side note: What’s up with Pennsylvannia and students rights? First this, then the MySpace punishments, and most recently, spying on their students).
The district court stopped the DA from prosecuting the students, saying that it probably wasn’t illegal for girls to take and distribute provocative, or even nude pictures of themselves. Child pornography laws are based on the fact that minors are victimized, and it is difficult to victimize yourself.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction, but on different grounds. The Court of Appeals thought that the ultimatum the DA gave, which was that the students had to participate in an “education program,” or face prosecution, was unconstitutional.
There were two problems. First, the program interfered with parents rights to raise their kids, as the DA was dictating to the children what he thought was appropriate, not what was legal or illegal. Second, the program required the students to write essays about what they did, and why it was wrong. That violates the First Amendment’s prohibition against compelled speech.
This doesn’t resolve many key issues about sexting, but it did stop the DA from ruining several young girls lives with frivolous felony prosecutions.
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Posted in: Analysis on March 18, 2010
Podcast 34: Some Relation
FBI Spying, Jammie Thomas gets a Break, and Joel Tenenbaum Tries to Reduce his Verdict.
Please download the podcast or subscribe to the feed. Feel free to e-mail us with questions, comments, or suggestions.
FBI Takes Phone Records
FBI broke law for years in phone record searches
The statute
Jammie Thomas-Rasset Gets a Break
Joel Tenenbaum Asks for a Break
UPDATE: We’ve switched to a new recording system that results in a better quality, but for some reason, lower volume podcast. We’re aware of this, and looking in to it. In the meantime, if you have iTunes, turn the volume adjust on the mp3 to 100%, or download it directly from the website. Either of these seem to help solve the problem.
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Posted in: Podcast on January 25, 2010
