Porn Pop-Ups On Trial

W'eve been keeping an eye on the legal troubles of Julie Amero, the Connecticut substitute teacher who was convicted on four counts of "risk of injury to a minor" after a classroom computer served porn pop-ups in front the unsullied eyes of innocent middle schoolers. Despite the fact that the computer was outdated, unprotected, and riddled with malware, Amero now faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in jail because of her computer illiteracy and bad lawyering. (Even the jurors agreed that her true crime was not the porn itself, but her failure to think of the children.) Since the verdict made national headlines computer experts, bloggers and other people with common sense have rallied to her cause, demanding an investigation or at the very least a new trial—and incredibly, they may have actually done some good. Reports from earlier this week indicated that the DA might be reconsidering his overly-aggressive stance, and now comes word that today's sentencing hearing has been postponed (for the second time) without explanation. Will Julie Amero be spared? Has the web actually, you know ... made a difference? Will hysterical community members ever understand how "teh internets" work? Will the person who invented pop-ups burn in eternal damnation? We can't wait to find out.

· "Amero's Court Date Delayed" (courant.com)
· "'Things may change' for Porn Pop-up teacher" (downloadsquad.com)

More background:
· Enduring Storm Of `Pop-Up' Madness (courant.com)
· Our view: Porn was Amero's burden (norwichbulletin.com)
· Computer profs urge independent investigator in teacher porn case (stamfordadvocate.com)
· Case against Julie Amero needs to be deleted (usatoday.com)
· Take Action: Julie Amero Porn Case (pcworld.com)

* * * * *

Previously: Anti-Porn Law Declared Unconstitutional ... Again