Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed a notice that they do not intend to pursue an appeal in the Lori Drew cyberbullying case, thus ending the controversial and lengthy case.
"We have a notice with the 9th Circuit that we are withdrawing our notice of appeal in the case," a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles wrote in an e-mail to Threat Level.
A judge threw out the government's case against Drew in July and acquitted her of three misdemeanor counts. Drew was convicted last November on three counts of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for using a fake MySpace account to harass a teenage girl who committed suicide.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause filed a notice in September in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, indicating that the government might appeal (.pdf) the judge's ruling.
The government's filing this week puts an end to Drew's nearly two-year legal battle in the criminal courts. It's unclear if she might still face a civil lawsuit filed by the family of the dead girl. An attorney for Drew did not respond to a call for comment.
The federal prosecution of Drew relied on a controversial reading of the federal hacking law -- essentially prosecuting Drew for violating MySpace's terms of service by not being truthful in an online profile.
But U.S. District Judge George Wu said the government’s theory was unconstitutional.
Letting that interpretation stand would ultimately have given prosecutors the power to criminally prosecute anyone for violating a website’s terms of service, Wu reasoned, and “would convert a multitude of otherwise innocent internet users into misdemeanant criminals.”
Drew and two others created a fake MySpace account to harass 13-year-old Megan Meier, who later committed suicide. Federal prosecutors got involved after local authorities could not find a way to bring charges.
Drew was initially charged with three felony counts of violating the CFAA and one count of felony conspiracy to violate the statute. A jury convicted her instead of lesser misdemeanor charges on the first three counts and deadlocked on the conspiracy charge. Prosecutors said at the time they weren't sure whether they'd attempt to retry Drew on the fourth charge.
But the U.S. Attorney spokesman told Threat Level on Friday that the government would not pursue a retrial on that charge.
"This will be the end of the case," said Mrozek.
Orin Kerr, a former Justice Department prosecutor who now teaches law at George Washington University, had planned to work on Drew's defense if the government pursued an appeal. Kerr was the first to report the news on his blog that the government had decided not to pursue an appeal.
"The case should have never been filed, and it was a stretch from the beginning," he told Threat Level.
Photo: Lori Drew
Associated Press photo
See also:
- Prosecutors Set Stage to Appeal Lori Drew Ruling
- Judge Postpones Lori Drew Sentencing; Weighs Dismissal
- Can Lori Drew Verdict Survive the 9th Circuit Court?
- Prosecutors Seek 3 Years in Prison for Lori Drew
- Lori Drew Not Guilty of Felonies in Landmark Cyberbullying Trial
- Prosecution: Lori Drew Schemed to Humiliate Teen Girl
- Government's Star Witness Stumbles: MySpace Hoax Was Her Idea, Not Drew's
- Experts Say MySpace Suicide Indictment Sets 'Scary' Legal Precedent
- Blog Readers Out Anonymous Adults that Newspaper Refused to Identify
