This mother wants jail time for Lori Drew. She cannot accept the fact that her daughter's suicide is most likely due to genetic predisposition, and possibly due to parental behavior. The latter includes failure to monitor and restrict the computer activity of a daughter with psychopathology. The idea that a fictional character can induce a suicide is such a radical one, it requires a very high level of empirical data. The idea that a fictional character could intentionally inflict emotional distress violates the Free Speech Clause. I write a book. A reader, one of a million, acts upon its content after being totally offended. The book is immunized by the First Amendment.
The verdict did not involve the suicide. Instead, it involved a lawyer gotcha. The Terms of Service (TOS) of MySpace were violated by Lori Drew's registering a fictional character. By violating the TOS, Lori Drew committed unauthorized access to MySpace, a violation of a federal law forbidding hacking. Hacking involves figuring out passwords, and clear unauthorized invasion of a computer. It does not involve violation of a private contract, until this case.
The case is pretextual (a false use of the law), both legally and is anti-scientific. As a result, it criminalizes the breach of any TOS, which is the breach of a private contract. This violates the law of contract, as it was for the past 1000 years. The district attorney in Missouri found the act of Lori Drew reprehensible, but not illegal. Thomas O'Brien, the Department of Justice overreaching prosecutor, should be fired. He is wasting massive amounts of tax payer funds to aggrandize himself and to get in the paper, by an unlawful prosecution.
Orin Kerr intends to participate in an appeal of the verdict to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. By that courageous pro bono offer, he is defending all internet users. To use the internet, they are forced to agree to contracts of adhesion. They cannot function without the Internet, but are signing bogus, one sided contracts.
If a torts claim gets filed, I would be interested in the conduct of the family. It is far more likely to have induced the suicide, than the rantings of a fictional character. The sentence, "The world would be better off without you," is not an established cause of suicide. I would also demand a forensic evaluation of the private computers of Thomas O'Brien, the over reaching prosecutor, to see what TOS he violated.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
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2 comments:
You appear to have a legalistic mind that is shockingly ignorant of human psychology. There is a real world outside the law books - get to know it.
Anonymous: Specifically?
You are shockingly ignorant of the causes of suicide. None involves reading chat messages from fictional characters. That is such an extreme idea, it requires a high level of scientific validation. None exists.
The family is far more likely to cause the suicide. The scapegoating mother will not face that.
By:
1) genetics;
2) family conflict and negative expressed emotion;
3) failure to control access to the internet by a frail person;
4) failure to comply with treatment;
5) failure to supervise the suicidal person.
Defendant should review filing a cross claim against the family, as causes of unforeseen intervening causes. A defense attorney that fails to go all out in discovery of the family should be fired.
The legal action against Lori Drew threatens all internet users, by criminalizing any breach of the Terms of Service. It should be appealed to the US Supreme Court if the appeal at the Ninth Circuit fails. It threatens our freedom.
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