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Jury Finds Lori Drew Not Guilty on Felony Charges

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Wired/Threat Level reports:

Lori Drew, the 49-year-old woman charged in the first federal cyberbullying case, was cleared of felony computer-hacking charges by a jury Wednesday morning, but convicted of three misdemeanors. The jury deadlocked on a remaining felony charge of conspiracy.

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News Links

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I usually send this out to the CMLP's team of intrepid bloggers to pique their interest, but with the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, I figured I'd avoid the middleman. 

Things that caught my eye this week...

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California Real Estate Companies Pursue Bogus Lanham Act Claim Against Tenants

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Paul Levy of Public Citizen recently tipped us off to a new John Doe case in federal court in California.  In this case, two real estate companies, Parkmerced Investors Properties LLC and Stellar Larkspur Partners LLC, have sued eighteen unknown defendants for violation of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C.

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Lori Drew Trial Ongoing, Legal Issues Still Unclear

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Lori Drew's trial for allegedly violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) began this week.  There has been some great coverage of the proceedings, including the following highlights:

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Jones Day v. BlockShopper: Court Chooses Legal Formality Over Common Sense

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Last Thursday, a federal district judge denied BlockShopper.com's motion to dismiss Jones Day's complaint

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Douchetastic Defamation Suit Filed

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Michael Minelli, a 27-year old "club promoter," is spewing vinegar at Simon and Schuster, publisher of the book Hot Chicks with Douchebags. Apparently, Mr. Minelli finds the description "douchebag" to be inaccurate, and to say the least, neither sweet nor fresh.

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Workshop on Managing Online Reader Contributions and Comments

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This Thursday I'll be participating in a "collaborative workshop" involving newspaper editors and media lawyers addressing the challenges associated with managing online reader contributions and comments.  The half-day workshop is sponsored by the New England Newspaper Association, New England Press Association, and Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye.  

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Nude Bike Riding Protected by the First Amendment

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Michael "Bobby" Hammond, 21, inspired by his recent participation in the annual World Naked Bike Ride -- an event that protests against car culture, decided to take his vintage 10-speed bicycle for a spin through the streets of Portland, Oregon while wearing nothing but a bicycle helmet.

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Two New Ripoff Report Cases Filed

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Eric Goldman reminds us (here, here) that angry companies and individuals are still suing Xcentric Ventures, LLC and Ed Magedson left and right over reports submitted to Ripoff Report.  Ripoff Report is a website that allows users to post reports about individuals and companies that they believe have "ripped them off" or treated them unfair

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Schools Lack Authority to Punish Online Student Speech

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One of the major issues facing schools is whether they have authority to discipline their students for speech on the Internet.  In an article I wrote that will appear in the December 2008 issue of the Florida Law Review, I argue that public secondary schools have virtually no authority under the First Amendment to punish students for online speech.  I decided to write this article after hearing about cases all over the country where

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Lori Drew Trial To Start Next Week

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Believe it or not, the criminal case against Lori Drew heads to trial next Tuesday. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles indicted Drew last May for her alleged role in a hoax on MySpace directed at Megan Meier, a 13-year-old neighbor of Drew's who committed suicide in October 2006.  Prosecutors claim that Drew violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C.

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Court Rejects Bid to Silence Mortgage Watchdog Website

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The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter, a mortgage watchdog website, announced on Friday that a federal judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction against it filed by Global Direct Sales, LLC, the Penobscot Indian Nation, Christopher Russell, and Ryan Hill.

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These Anonymous Critics ARE Cowards

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The AP reports, "Palin derides anonymous critics on Fox as cowards," a reference to a recent Fox News segment in which a correspondent relayed a variety of negative attacks from, he said, members of the McCain campaign staff against Sarah Palin.

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CMLP and Leading Online News Organizations File Amici Curiae Brief in Cape Cod Defamation Case

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On Friday, the Citizen Media Law Project joined with the Online News Association, Media Bloggers Association, New England Press Association, and Globe Newspaper Company, publisher of The Boston Globe and Boston.com, to submit an amici

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Don't Blame The Messenger: Political News Site Faces Defamation Lawsuit By G.O.P. Official

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Just because the election is over, it doesn't mean that some of this season's political fights won't continue on in the courts.  Here's one from our legal threats database, Carabelli v. The Michigan Messenger.

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Get Out And Vote: Election Day Resources

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I am about to head out and vote, but before I do I want to exhort all of our readers who haven't yet voted to GO OUT AND VOTE!  Don't know where to vote?  Go here to find out.  Once you've voted, do your part and upload the details of your experience to one (or all) of the organizations seeking to collect information about this election. 

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Documenting Your Vote: Massachusetts Election Laws

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Massachusetts has no statutory provision that specifically prohibits the use of photographic or video equipment inside a polling place while you are voting.  There is, however, a Massachusetts statute that makes it a crime to "hinder[], delay[] or interfere[] with . . .

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Georgia Law Prohibits Recording Inside Polling Places

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Georgia is one of the states that explicitly prohibit photography inside polling places.  Section 21-2-413(e) of the Georgia Code states:

No elector shall use photographic or other electronic monitoring or recording devices or cellular telephones while such elector is within the enclosed space in a polling place.

This prohibition applies to the entire polling place, not just the voting booth.  Therefore, Georgia voters should not attempt to use a video camera, still camera, or other recording device anywhere inside a polling place.

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The Role of Citizen Media in Ensuring Fair Elections

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Yesterday, I read an article in the New York Times describing the fears some voters in Duval County, Florida have that their early votes will be lost and never counted.  I found the article deeply disturbing.  It wasn't because it surprised me that people fear their votes won't be counted (that fear has some precedent in Duval County, where 26,000 ballots were discarded in the 2000 election), but because it brought into focus for me the apprehensive feelin

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