Woman's Spam Conviction Thrown Out
By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 2, 2005; Page E01
A Loudoun County judge yesterday dismissed a North Carolina woman's conviction on felony spamming charges, saying there was insufficient evidence that she flooded tens of thousands of America Online e-mail accounts with unsolicited bulk advertisements. But the judge upheld the conviction of the woman's brother, who had been found guilty of the same crime.
At a hearing requested by defense attorneys, Circuit Judge Thomas D. Horne overturned the conviction of Jessica DeGroot, 28, saying he thought the jury, tasked with sorting through complex technological evidence and navigating a new Virginia anti-spam law, might simply have gotten "lost." Horne said he could not find "any rational basis" to find DeGroot guilty.
