Lori Drew Case Officially Dropped
from the good-news dept
While this should come as no surprise -- since the judge basically said two months ago that he was planning to dismiss the ruling against Lori Drew -- it's worth noting that official ruling dismissing the case has been handed down:The reasoning of the opinion is that whatever unauthorized access means, it cannot mean mere violation of Terms of Service without more. Such a reading of the statute would render the statute unconstitutionally void for vagueness because it would give the government almost unlimited power to prosecute any Internet user and wouldn't give citizens sufficient notice as to what of their Internet conduct was criminal.Phew. Whatever you think of Drew's behavior, it was absolutely wrong to try to twist a totally unrelated law to find something to charge her with.
Of course, now, in the wake of this debacle, Missouri passed a new law making online harassment a potential felony, and the first case under that law has been filed.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: cyberbullying, hacking, lori drew, megan meier
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Oooohhhh, let's play mad libs for typical story responses...
She personally killed that [adjective] girl and nothing anyone says will make me think that she shouldn't go [verb] herself with a [noun] in her [noun], you [adjective] blogger!
[verb] You!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Oooohhhh, let's play mad libs for typical story responses...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Oooohhhh, let's play mad libs for typical story responses...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Oooohhhh, let's play mad libs for typical story responses...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Oooohhhh, let's play mad libs for typical story responses...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Oooohhhh, let's play mad libs for typical story responses...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Oooohhhh, let's play mad libs for typical story responses...
Mike, you amazing bumblebee, how can you not see that Lori Drew is a visionary bitch and I hope she dies a/an enjoyable death!
She personally killed that fat girl and nothing anyone says will make me think that she shouldn't go burn herself with a incandescent light bulb in her earlobe, you unappreciated blogger!
[verb] You!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Oooohhhh, let's play mad libs for typical story responses...
Phillip Garrido had something similar to say about how he was making a better world, to quote: "You're going to find the most powerful story coming from the witness, from the victim," he promised. "If you take this a step at a time, you're going to fall over backward, and in the end you're going to find the most powerful, heartwarming story." It's all just perspective or insanity, but never life affirming with respect to the other persons life.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Isn't harassment already illegal?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Isn't harassment already illegal?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Isn't harassment already illegal?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Isn't harassment already illegal?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Isn't harassment already illegal?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Isn't harassment already illegal?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Isn't harassment already illegal?
A place where this person can create a fake e-mail account, ( way too easy at google ) can use proxy servers so his IP can never be traced, and be more trouble for you online and you have no recourse but to put up with it or leave the net.
You tell me with all that, that we need new laws. Where the internet is now concerned we may need more new laws rather than just one.
Sure its already illegal, but the internet like I said is a whole different place with it's own jurisdiction.
That needs to change.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Criminal law is not well-developed to deal with problems like this (yet). The civil law is - no doubt, if it hasn't already happened, the parents or estate will appropriately file an action against Drew and the various coconspirators for privacy torts, wrongful death, and the like.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
"Whatever you think of Drew's behavior, it was absolutely wrong to try to twist a totally unrelated law to find something to charge her with."
To clarify that, he's saying that your opinion on what she did is irrelevant here, so we don't wanna hear it. Instead let's hear about your opinion on the ruling.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Harassment on a controlled platform?
The only real grounds for harassment would be someone who repeatedly signs up under new names just to avoid your blocks. There MIGHT be a case there where someone is actively trying to throw themselves onto the victim, but other than that it amazes me how anyone can let themselves be bothered by stuff online.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Harassment on a controlled platform?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Texas has them now, too
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Drew is a CUNT
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
lori drew die a slow painful death you fat fucking bitch!
I am surprised you even have a kid! The father must be fucking blind or have been drunk as hell when he poked lori drews fugly jabba the hutt looking self. I bet Lori Drews daughter is a big bitch too!
I don't generally wish ill on anyone, but I hope to one day hear about something bad happening to this bitch. She has got me wanting to go all voodoo child and put a hex on her fat dyke ass. If I was one of the neighborhood kids you better believe she would be getting egged regularly, especially her car. Your lucky you don't live in my neighorhood you better never move here either, you better recoginize! You give americans a bad name.
Do us all a favor and legally change your name from Lori Drew to BigFat DykeLooking ChildKiller. That way no one will have any questions about your ass breathe self. If I ever see you in real life I will spit in your face and give you my monkeypox! I will keep an eye out for Lori drew, fucking bitch!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: lori drew die a slow painful death you fat fucking bitch!
LDH, lemme ask you a question: if Lori Drew reads that and commits suicide over it, what does that mean for you?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: lori drew die a slow painful death you fat fucking bitch!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: lori drew die a slow painful death you fat fucking bitch!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Internet Harassment
>^;^
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]