Drew, 50, was supposed to be sentenced yesterday after being convicted in November of three misdemeanor charges for unauthorized computer access. She faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $300,000 fine, but probation authorities recently recommended probation and a $5,000 fine.

After authorities in Drew's home state of Missouri declined to charge her in connection to 13-year-old Megan Meier's suicide, prosecutors in Los Angeles, where MySpace is based, charged Drew using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a federal anti-hacking statute. The prosecution argued that Drew's violation of MySpace's terms of service when she created a fake profile to harass Meier was the legal equivalent of computer hacking, but U.S. District Judge George Wu said the prosecution's argument was "troublesome," according to the Los Angeles Times. "Using this particular statute in this particular situation is so weird," said Wu.

In an hour long discussion yesterday, Wu questioned Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause on the law used to prosecute Drew, reports Wired. "Is a misdemeanor committed by the conduct which is done every single day by millions and millions of people?" asked Wu, "If these people do read [the "terms of service"] and still say they're 40 when they are 45, is that a misdemeanor?"

Krause responded that Drew committed a crime by signing up for the fake MySpace account with the intent to harm Meier, and that she knew her actions were illegal because she deleted the account shortly after the girl's suicide. After the jury verdict in November, the defense sought a directed acquittal on grounds that the defense did not prove their case. Judges usually quickly overrule such motions, but Wu has delayed his ruling for more than five months. Now he has further postponed the sentencing because he wants to reconsider Drew's punishment and the defense motion to dismiss the entire case.

Megan Meier's parents both spoke at the hearing. Wu did not look at Ron Meier during the first part of his statement, and only turned to him when his voice broke as he said, "I am no longer married to Megan's mom... We are both financially ruined, and I have gone through a living hell."

Tina Meier began her statement by repeating some details she mentioned during the trial itself; Wu interrupted her, saying she had already testified about those facts. Ms. Meier, who has been campaigning against cyberbullying across the country since her daughter's death, closed her statement by saying, "This is not just about Megan Meier," and that Lori Drew needs to be punished in order to "make a stand now for all the people who go through this."

MySpace Hoax Sentencing Delayed [The Los Angeles Times]
Judge Postpones Lori Drew Sentencing, Weighs Dismissal [Wired]

Earlier: Crime & Punishment
Breaking
MySpace Trial Jurors Wanted A Harsher Sentence For Lori Drew
Megan Meier's Mother Talks To Today About MySpace Verdict

The film, "inspired by recent events" will center around a grieving mother who "retaliates against those she feels were responsible for her daughter's death." So, not only is this movie a tasteless exploitation of the Meier family's tragedy, but it also entirely rewrites events vigilante-style! However, this is not the first time the Megan Meier case has "inspired" entertainment: an episode of Law & Order: SVU titled "Babes" featured a story line obviously ripped from the headlines of the MySpace Suicide case. There is no release date set yet for E-Venge. Who will play Lori Drew? [Cinema Blend]

As previously mentioned, Drew was found guilty of computer fraud, but the conspiracy charges brought against her were dropped. Today Judge George Wu will hear arguments to set aside the verdicts against Lori Drew. In his dismissal motion, defense attorney Dean Steward wrote: “Put simply, the question is this: Is it a federal crime to violate a Web site term of service? The correct answer should be a resounding no.” Drew currently faces up to three years in prision and a $300,000 fine. [AP & Wired]

The passionate response of the jury has not been felt by legal experts, many of whom believe the decision against Drew sets a dangerous precedent. According to Groklaw's Pamela Jones (via Wired), because Drew was convicted of violating the oft-ignored terms of service, "I don't think it's overstating it a bit to say that unless this case is overturned, it is time to get off the internet completely, because it will have become too risky to use a computer. At a minimum, I'd feel I'd need to avoid signing up for membership at any website, particularly MySpace." Some federal law experts expect the ruling in the case to be overturned when it comes up in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, since they believe the interpretation of the law is a stretch.

But apparently the jurors for the case were not upset by the new interpretation of the decades-old Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to include violations of terms of service. "The thing that really bothered me was that (Drew's) attorney kept claiming that nobody reads the terms of service," Kunasz tells Wired. "I always read the terms of service. . . . If you choose to be lazy and not go though that entire agreement or contract of agreement then absolutely you should be held liable." Lori Drew has clearly been convicted in the court of public (and jury) opinion — but does her case hold up when held to emotion-free scrutiny?

Jurors Wanted To Convict Lori Drew Of Felonies But Were Stymied By Prosecutors [Wired]
Can Lori Drew Verdict Survive The 9th Circuit Court? [Wired]

Earlier: Megan Meier's Mother Talks To Today About MySpace Verdict
Lori Drew Verdict
MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger"
MySpace Trial, Day 3: Lori Drew's Daughter Speaks
MySpace Trial, Day 4: Sarah Drew Says Megan "Was My Best Friend"

Though the jurors did not indicate which charge they're hung up on, Wired also makes the point that three of the charges are nearly identical, so it's likely that the conspiracy charge is the one they're struggling with. In addition, "Jurors can find Drew guilty of conspiracy if they conclude that she schemed with others in violating MySpace's terms, without necessarily committing a computer crime herself." However, some detractors of Federal prosecutor Thomas O'Brien still believe that Lori Drew should not have been charged in the first place. Reason Magazine's Jacob Sullum says:

The charges did not fit the facts of the case…[O'Brien] never presented any evidence that Drew saw MySpace's Terms Of Service, let alone agreed to them. Furthermore, O'Brien's interpretation of the law would make criminals of us all. Shortly after the indictment, Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor who later volunteered as a pro bono attorney for Drew, noted, "Since everyone who uses computers violates dozens of different TOS every day, the theory would make everyone who uses computers a felon."

The jury will reconvene at 9 a.m. to try to hash out that final charge and attempt to reach a unanimous verdict.

Lori Drew Jury Nears Verdict on Three Charges, Struggles With Fourth [Wired]
MySpace Jury Reaches Verdicts On Some Counts [L.A. Times]
Thomas O'Brien's MySpace Hoax [Reason]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger"
MySpace Trial, Day 3: Lori Drew's Daughter Speaks
MySpace Trial, Day 4: Sarah Drew Says Megan "Was My Best Friend"

• Megan allegedly called Sarah an "ugly lesbian," which is what prompted Lori Drew and her business assistant, Ashley Grills, to create the fake MySpace account in the first place.
• According to People:
  

  Drew's now 16-year-old daughter Sarah testified Monday that, on Oct. 16, she was with Grills and, "I told her not to send that last message" to Megan that said that the world would be a better place without her.
  "Did Ashley send that last message?" O'Brien asked.
  "Yes," Drew said as she wept.
  Two of the six female jurors dabbed at their eyes.
  "She was my best friend," the defendant's daughter tearfully recalled.

• Defense attorney Dean Steward said in his closing statements that Drew can not be guilty of a conspiracy because a conspiracy implies intent. Drew didn't even read the MySpace terms of use, so she could not have intentionally violated them. "Nobody reads these things, nobody," he said. "... How can you violate something when you haven't even read it? End of case. The case is over."
• More from Steward: "If you hadn't heard the indictment read to you, you'd think this was a homicide case…And it's not a homicide case. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a computer case, and that's what you need to decide."
• In addition, he added that there was no cyberbullying in this case because "Megan dished it out the same way that she got it," and Steward also said, "[Ashley] Grills, bless her heart, is pathetic."
• The prosecution focused on the tragedy of the case in order to sway jurors. According to the AP, "Lori Drew decided to humiliate a child," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said. "The only way she could harm this pretty little girl was with a computer. She chose to use a computer to hurt a little girl, and for four weeks she enjoyed it."
• "The tragedy in this case is not just Megan Meier's suicide," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said in his closing arguments to jurors, Reuters reports. "It's the fact that it was so preventable. If, as a 47-year-old woman Lori Drew was so upset that Megan Meier had called her daughter ugly or a lesbian, she could have gone over and talked to her mom and we wouldn't be here."

Judge Postpones Ruling On Lori Drew MySpace Trial [Wired]
Jury Gets Case Of MySpace Hoax Tied To Suicide [AP via MSNBC]
Cyber-Bullying Suicide Case Goes to Jury [People]
Jury To Deliberate In MySpace Suicide Case [Reuters]
Lori Drew Case Goes To Jury [Wired]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger"
MySpace Trial, Day 3: Lori Drew's Daughter Speaks

• Sarah Drew told the court that her mother Lori thought the MySpace hoax was a good idea only for the first two weeks of tormenting Megan. Sarah claims that Lori told her assistant, Ashley Grills, to delete the "Josh" profile at that time.
• According to the AP, " Sarah also said she tried to stop Grills from sending the final message. 'I was like, Ashley, no, don't send it,' Sarah said. 'She said she sent it and laughed about it.'"
• Sarah testified that she never saw her mother use the MySpace account, directly contradicting Grills.
• Also from the AP:
  

  Sarah said Megan confided in her on two occasions that she wanted to kill herself. "She was like, I don't know if I could live anymore," she said of one instance. "I told her not to do it." Sarah cried on the witness stand and nodded when O'Brien questioned her about why she didn't tell any adults about the suicide conversations. Defense attorney Dean Steward stood up and lashed out at the region's top federal prosecutor for badgering the teenage girl.

• After the prosecution rested its case on Friday, Wired reports, Drew's defense asked for an immediate dismissal based on Sarah's testimony that Lori Drew never read or agreed to the MySpace terms of use, and as a result could not have violated these terms. Furthermore, Ashley Grills accepted these terms of use, not Lori Drew.
• From Wired:
  

  Wu retired to his chambers to review transcripts of previous testimony and consider the motion. When he emerged 30 minutes later, he asked both sides to file written briefs on the issue. He allowed the defense to proceed with direct examination of its witnesses and said he'd give his decision about the motion to dismiss on Monday.

Daughter Defends Mom In MySpace Hoax Trial [AP via USA Today]
Judge Considers Throwing Out Lori Drew Case [Wired]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger."

• When Lori Drew helped set up the fake MySpace account because Megan had allegedly been mean to her daughter Sarah, she bragged to her hairdresser Christina Chu about it. Chu was so upset over Drew's callousness she had to retreat to the back of the salon.
• "After Meier's death, on the day of her wake, Drew showed up again to have her hair done. Chu asked Drew why she was going to the wake, given her role in the cyberbullying. Drew's response, Chu said, was, 'It's not like I pulled the trigger,'" Wired reports.
• In his cross-examination of Tina Meier, Drew's lawyer pummeled her on Megan's past internet behavior. According to Wired, before the Meiers' started monitoring Megan's internet usage closely, "Megan created a MySpace profile as an 18-year-old woman, and swapped sexually-charged banter with other users, he said, citing notes he'd obtained from Megan's psychologist." The lawyer pointed out that Megan had also violated MySpace's terms of service at one point by lying about her age.
• Drew's lawyer also pointed out that Megan was taking a trio of antidepressants when she died. "One of them, the antidepressant citalopram, has a reported side affect of contributing to suicidal behavior in children and adolescents suffering from depression, he noted."
• Ashley Grills, the then-18-year-old who was Lori Drew's assistant, said that the creation of the MySpace account was initially her idea, but that Lori Drew agreed and "thought it was funny," the L.A. Times notes.
• Grills said that Lori Drew was present when they agreed to the terms of service, but neither woman read them.
• From the L.A. Times:
  

  Grills testified that she, Drew and Drew's daughter were trying to figure out a way "to expose Megan" for rumors she'd allegedly been spreading about Sarah…She said Drew also helped formulate messages that were sent to Megan and at one point suggested that they have 'Josh' arrange a meeting with Megan at a local mall at which Sarah and her friends would 'pop out' and tease Megan.

• This part also hurts the case of MySpace fraud against Drew: the final contact between Megan and "Josh" took place on AOL Instant Messenger, according to testimony by Grills.
• Grills also testified that she had no idea that Megan had had emotional problems in the past, until Drew told her shortly after Megan's death, "We could have pushed her overboard because she was suicidal and depressed.'"
• When the Drew family and Grills got word that Megan had killed herself, they got off the internet and turned on the TV. Shortly thereafter, Wired reports, "Curt Drew started yelling at them to get rid of the MySpace account. When asked what Lori Drew did at that moment, Grills said at first she sat quietly and was consoling her daughter, then she, too, started yelling at them to delete the account and told them not to say anything to anyone."

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
Megan Meier's MySpace Hoax Tormenter: "I Just Wanted It To End"

• In his opening statement, prosecuting U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said that Lori Drew created the fake persona of Josh Evans to find out whether Megan was spreading rumors about Drew's daughter, Sarah, CBS News reports.
• O'Brien says Drew "fully intended to hurt and prey on Megan's psyche," and added thatshe "hatched a plot to prey on the psyche" of a 13-year-old she knew was "vulnerable, suicidal and boy crazy."
• "One of her plans was to print out the conversations and take it to Megan's school and let people make fun of this depressed 13-year-old girl," O'Brien also said.
• Megan's mom, Tina Meier took the stand. Reports CBS:
  

  Meier said after a name-calling exchange between Megan, "Josh," and two other girls in October 2006, she told a sobbing Megan, who was being treated for attention deficit disorder and depression, that she wasn't supposed to be online and shouldn't have gotten into the argument. "The last words she said to me were 'You are supposed to be my mom, you are supposed to be on my side,"' Meier said as she tried to hold back tears.

• According to the L.A. Times this was the final exchange between "Josh" and Megan. Josh: "The world would be a better place without you. Have a shitty rest of your life." Megan: "You are the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over."
• Lori Drew's attorney claims she "shut down the profile when she learned that Meier was becoming romantically interested and hinting that she wanted to meet Josh Evans," Reuters reports.
• Lori has pleaded not guilty to "one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing computers without authorization. Each count carries a potential sentence of five years in prison," says CBS News.
• From the L.A. Times: "Lori Drew, dressed in a sweater and looking every bit the Midwestern mom, sat expressionless at the defense table during much of the proceedings."

Dead Teen's Mom Testifies In MySpace Trial [CBS News]
Woman Posed As Teen Online In Suicide Case: Attorney [Reuters]
Jurors Told Of Girl's Suicide At MySpace Trial [LAT]

Earlier: Are The Parents Who Myspace Tormented Megan Meier Ready To Atone? Um…
Feds Take On Megan Meier Case, Hope To Charge Evil Mom With Crime

Lori Drew is accused of using a fictitious profile on MySpace to drive Megan Meier, her daughter's former friend, to hang herself. She's pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing computers without authorization. She's being charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is usually used for hackers and high-tech crimes. But this Act has never been used in connection with a Web site's "terms of service" agreement.

Still, the most terrible part about this case is the fact that a 49-year-old woman tormented a 13-year-old girl to the point that the child took her own life. If the jury doesn't hear about the suicide, does the prosecution have a chance of winning?

MySpace Trial Judge: Suicide Not Relevant [CBS News]
MySpace Hoax Jury May Not Hear About Suicide [CNN]

Drew is being charged with violating federal statute as outlined in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, but this is the first time the Act has been used in a social networking scenario. USC law professor Rebecca Lonergan tells the L.A. Times, "It's a very creative, aggressive use of the statute. But they may have a legally tough time meeting the elements." Another California attorney, James Chadwick, thinks the state will have a tough time convicting Lori Drew on these grounds. "As tragic as it is," Chadwick said, "You can't start imposing liability on people for being cruel."

If Lori Drew is convicted she faces four counts, each of which carry a five year maximum jail sentence. The trial is set for July 29. Even if the case is a wash, the public shaming of Lori Drew has at least one positive outcome, the LAT reports. "In response to the case, Missouri legislators gave final approval to a bill making cyber harassment illegal."

Woman In Internet Suicide Case Pleads Not Guilty [LA Times]
Lori Drew Pleads Not Guilty In MySpace Suicide Case[WSJ]

Classy!

Neighbor Indicted In MySpace Suicide Case [TheSmokingGun]
Women Indicted In MySpace Suicide Case [AP

Earlier: Previous Megan Meier posts can be found here

Parents Tina and Ron, who met in second grade and married just out of high school, come across as unimpeachably sympathetic as ever; they reared Megan in a friendly subdivision free of laundry poles and aboveground pools and when she seemed to be striving for the "instant maturity look" too early, they enrolled her in a Catholic school where she wore a uniform and stopped "paying attention to her hair as much" and "worrying about undereye concealer." Then came Josh Evans...

Playing on Megan's susceptibility to underdogs, Josh's creators endowed him with a pitiable bio: "when I was 7 my dad left me and my mom and my older brother and my newborn brother...poor mom yeah she had such a hard time...finding work to pay for us after he left." His ambitions also seemed tweaked to Megan's desires. His answer to the section "Goal you would like to achieve this year" was "meet a great girl." The girl he was looking for happened to have long brown hair, like Megan. As for weight, Josh answered, "DON'T REALLY MATTER."

She stared directly at the camera, screwing her lips into the half-sulky, half-silly, exactingly lip-glossed pout that— whether designed to suggest vampiness or simply to mask the indignities of orthodontia— is a upiquitous affectation of american teen-age girldom.

MySpace, with its cluttered layout, can suggest an online incarnation of the broken-windows theory — surface disorder begetting actual chaos.

Hi . . . you might not know me . . . but [my friend] used to live in missouri and be friends with your wonderful daughter . . . [we] get made fun of too. being called whores etc . . . etc. but we're doing everything we can to stop bullying . . . because we dont want something this terrible to have to happen to anyone again . . . we're going to counciling . . . and i think we're really gunna start to make a difference.

Annals Of Crime: Friend Game [New Yorker]
Earlier: If You Can Handle A Really Depressing Teen Suicide Story Right Now
Are The Parents Who MySpace Tormented Megan Meier Ready To Atone?

Dozens of people allegedly have called local businesses that work with the family's advertising booklet firm, and flooded the phone lines this week at the local Burlington Coat Factory, where Curt Drew reportedly works.

"I posted that, where Curt works. I'm not ashamed to admit that," said Trever Buckles, 40, a neighbor whose two teenage boys grew up with Megan. "Why? Because there's never been any sense of remorse or public apology from the Drews, no 'maybe we made a mistake.' "

LA Grand Jury Issue Subpoenas In MySpace Case [LA Times]

The day after the article was published, a prank caller dialed 911 and reported a murder at the Drew residence. "I looked out into my front yard and all I saw was nothing but St. Charles police officers with shotguns and bulletproof vests," says Trevor Buckles, who lives in the house next door to the Drews. "It was kind of scary." Pete Kriss, another neighbor, says at first he worried that people might mistake his house for the Drews' home and is glad the address is posted online. "Now they know exactly where it is," he says.

Neighbors say they haven't seen the family in days and have no idea as to their whereabouts. A person answering the phone at Coldwell Banker Gundaker in O'Fallon, where Curt Drew worked as a realtor, said Drew was no longer with the firm and quickly hung up.

But now there's really not a lot more to say but, you know, love your neighbors. Yes, the town passed some law criminalizing online harassment and columnist Steve Pokin continues to use his space to argue for tougher legislation regarding internet threats; I'd like to think the power of stories like these will be more effective than the prospect of $500 fines at deterring those who might otherwise be tempted to go too far in tormenting someone on Myspace.

And finally, I know the Meiers are legally separated now and have even filed restraining orders against one another; my experience covering messy divorce cases tells me this is probably mostly tactical, but still. If it's idealistic to think experiencing the country's love and empathy for them might help bring them back together and encourage them to finally move on, okay then, I am an idealist.

A Hoax Turned Fatal [New York Times]
Broken Lives On Waterford Crystal Drive [Riverfront Times]