Slashdot Mirror
$1.9 Million Award In Thomas Case Raises Constitutional Questions
Techdirt points out that the EFF is examining the constitutionality of the recent $1.9 million verdict awarded in favor of the RIAA against Jammie Thomas. While on the surface it may seem that this excessive award should be easy to overturn since grossly excessive punitive damage awards are considered to violate the Due Process clause of the US Constitution, the Supreme Court seems to have been ignoring precedent and upholding copyright's importance at any cost. "Given the size of the statutory damages award, Ms. Thomas-Rasset's legal team will likely be seriously considering a constitutional challenge to the verdict. A large and disproportionate damage award like this raises at least two potential constitutional concerns. First, the Supreme Court has made it clear that 'grossly excessive' punitive damage awards (e.g., $2 million award against BMW for selling a repainted BMW as 'new') violate the Due Process clause of the US Constitution. In evaluating whether an award 'grossly excessive,' courts evaluate three criteria: 1) the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant's actions, 2) the disparity between the harm to the plaintiff and the punitive award, and 3) the similarity or difference between the punitive award and civil penalties authorized or imposed in comparable situations. Does a $1.92 million award for sharing 24 songs cross the line into 'grossly excessive?' And do these Due Process limitations apply differently to statutory damages than to punitive damages? These are questions that the court will have to decide if the issue is raised by Ms. Thomas-Rasset's attorneys."
as a brit, you have NO right to talk about justice.
first, take down all the ORWELLIAN cameras that litter your country.
then, tell the cops they do NOT have the right to stop people just to make quotas, show that they are 'impartial' to race/color and also tell them that its NOT illegal to shoot their photo or even to shoot photos, in general.
UK has lost any moral high road in criticizing any other country. your country is far more messed up than ours is.
(ob disc: I used to travel to the UK regularly on business but now, I won't be caught in the UK for any reason at all. things are THAT bad to some of us yanks, that we now refuse to even enter your country.)
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
It's LOSE!!! not LOOSE!!! Why can't anyone ever get this right? What the heck is wrong with our education system? LOSE is a verb and it means to not win. For example, you can LOSE a game if the other team beats you. At that point, you are the LOSER. LOOSE is an adjective that means not tight. For example, you may have a LOOSE floor board that needs tightened. If you don't, it may become LOOSER over time. Sheesh.