Photo by Kyz (Flickr)
It is unusual but not unheard of for criminal charges to be filed for Internet use. Joshua* was a 17-year-old student in North Carolina. A few days after the Columbine killings in 1999, he posted “The End is Near” on the school’s screensaver. He was charged with communicating a threat and a jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, one and a half years probation and 48 hours of community service. On appeal the court reversed the conviction ruling that there was no evidence of a willful threat to injure anyone or damage property.
*State v. Mortimer, 542 S.E.2d 330 (2001)
I.M.L.** was a 16-year-old student at Milford High School in Utah. On a webpage at home he criticized his teachers, classmates and principal. The police were called and I.M.L. was charged with libel – an unjust statement that exposes someone to public contempt.
The charges were dismissed by the court because the state law defining libel was too broad and ambiguous. I.M.L. was lucky and hopefully learned something about the legal system. Although not perfect, it can disrupt your life even when no criminal intent exists.
**I.M.L. v. State of Utah, 61 P.3d 1038 (2002).
Take a look at “8 Florida teens face prison for video assault” at http://askthejudge.info/8-florida-teens-face-prison-for-video-assault/199/#more-199 for the story about Victoria Lindsay [age 16] who was beaten on March 30, 2008 by a group of classmates. The incident was videotaped for posting on YouTube and MySpace.
All were charged and were facing trial as adults. Charges were dropped against three of them due to insufficient evidence. In 2009, the remaining five girls entered guilty pleas and were sentenced to probation, community service hours and restitution. One of them received 15 days in jail. [Photo from Tampa Bay online]
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