My name is Judge
Last week, Jammie Thomas was found guilty of copyright infringement and was ordered to pay $222,000 in fines for sharing MP3s. As a mother and working class citizen like most of us, she most likely cannot afford to pay such a ridiculous amount of money. So, she’s using our justice system to fight back; this time, with an appeal.
Thomas argues that the amount of damages ordered to paid is unconstitutionally excessive. In other cases, payouts as low as $1 a song have been handed down by a judge, so why not her? Hell, she could go out and buy the full CD containing each song she pirated for less than $1000. The RIAA is trying to make an example out of this lady and for the most part, it’s working. If you want to peer deeper into the rabbit hole, check out the Ars link below.
Appeal in RIAA case to focus on “unconstitutionally excessive” punishment [Ars Technica]