Judge Dismisses Twitter Stalking Case

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Judge Dismisses Twitter Stalking Case

Posted by Soulskill on Friday December 16, 2011 @03:35AM from the avert-thine-eyes dept.

itwbennett writes "Saying that Twitter and blogs are today's equivalent of a bulletin board that one is free to disregard (as compared to e-mails or phone calls directed to a victim), Maryland Judge Roger Titus on Thursday dismissed a criminal case against a person who was charged with stalking a religious leader on Twitter."

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Woah by ZiggieTheGreat · 2011-12-16 03:37 · Score: 5, Insightful

A judge who understood technology enough to make the right decision.

Now, how do we get more judges like this?
1. Re:Woah by vikingpower · 2011-12-16 03:44 · Score: 0
  
  By running for the office of judge ourselves, we, geeks ( in countries where judges are elected, of course ). Or by raising the level of technology-awareness through education, in countries where judge / magistrate is a career choice and a profession.
  
  --
  Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
2. Re:Woah by sandytaru · 2011-12-16 03:47 · Score: 2
  
  Given those choices, it's a heck of a lot easier to just run for office ourselves.
  
  --
  Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
3. Re:Woah by ackthpt · 2011-12-16 04:00 · Score: 2
  
  Given those choices, it's a heck of a lot easier to just run for office ourselves.
  Are we qualified? This is like the old engineering question, just because we can, should we?
  At what point will we become the enemy?
  Will we recognise it or will we go about judging everyone like some rampant modern day J. Edgar Hoover?
  
  --
  
  A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
4. Re:Woah by Sockatume · 2011-12-16 04:01 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  And where not possible, we should elect officials who are willing and able to obtain the knowledge of experts in fields where their knowledge is insufficient.
  
  --
  No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
5. Re:Woah by ackthpt · 2011-12-16 04:01 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  A judge who understood technology enough to make the right decision.
  Now, how do we get more judges like this?
  Being a good judge means being able to see through the truth behind the veil, no matter if it's corporate BS or technology.
  
  --
  
  A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
6. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 04:07 · Score: 0
  
  Yes his point was that there are not many of them. Where do we find more?
7. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 04:14 · Score: 0
  
  You'll need to be at least a lawyer to have the professional background...
  Not like a high school drop out that fixes PC.
8. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 04:26 · Score: 0, Funny
  
  Shhh...You'll hurt the little slashtards' feelings.
9. Re:Woah by Herkum01 · 2011-12-16 04:27 · Score: 1
  
  What makes you think this is not already happening?
10. Re:Woah by Baloroth · 2011-12-16 04:28 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  A judge who understood technology enough to make the right decision.
  Now, how do we get more judges like this?
  Being a good judge means being able to see through the truth behind the veil, no matter if it's corporate BS or technology.
  Unfortunately, people who are able to do that are extremely rare in all walks of life. Not surprisingly, they are also rare among judges.
  There is no one whose to blame. Well, no one specifically. High schools and colleges, employers, parents. Pretty much everything has contributed something to turning out people who can't see past bullshit. Or rather, haven't contributed to turning out people who can see through it, which is what is really needed. As one of my high school teachers said: "the purpose of high school is to train students bullshit detectors." But when schools (often incited by parents) try to feed bullshit themselves (in the form of "raising self-esteem", most often), that doesn't happen. And we end up with judges who suck at their jobs. Along with politicians who also suck, elected by voters who... well, who suck at picking out good candidates.
  
  --
  "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
11. Re:Woah by ohnocitizen · 2011-12-16 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  It wasn't about technology, the actual ruling dealt with the content of the tweets. One hopes this would be used as precedent for tech cases though - in many of them it is the content not the medium.
12. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 04:47 · Score: 1
  
  So I'd like to pose a question: Is it possible to use the term "slashtard" without, yourself, being a "slashtard"? Am I now a slashtard for asking the question? Did I dodge the issue by use of quotes in the first question and then screw myself in second?
  I feel kinda dirty, I'm gonna go home now.
13. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 05:59 · Score: 0
  
  I had a problem with an X writing nasty posts on Facebook and sending my friends and family nasty messages. When I called the police to report the issue they said it's freedom of speech nothing they can do for the situation. They told me to just block the person and move on with life.
14. Re:Woah by hedwards · 2011-12-16 06:04 · Score: 2
  
  The bigger concern is that despite women being just as likely to be engaged in domestic violence as men, we needed a woman specific law to deal with the problem.
  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013743521_domesticviolence26.html
15. Re:Woah by ZiggieTheGreat · 2011-12-16 06:09 · Score: 1
  
  It was and it wasn't. The fact that the judge was able to make the connection between Twitter and a public bulletin board proves the judge has at least some understanding. If the judge had treated Twitter like the USPS then the verdict would have been quite different.
16. Re:Woah by Sechr+Nibw · 2011-12-16 06:14 · Score: 1
  
  Dang it, AC, you sound a little insightful for a bit, then you propagate the nerd stereotype. It's supposed to be "I feel kinda dirty, I'm gonna go home and SHOWER now."
17. Re:Woah by Jason+Levine · 2011-12-16 08:00 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know if this was the right decision. Then again, I'm not impartial since I'm being cyber-stalked/harassed on Twitter right now by someone who claims God talks to her. (Thank goodness I don't use my real name/address there.) If the guy was repeatedly telling her that she should die, then I think that crosses the line from free speech to harassment.
  
  --
  My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
18. Re:Woah by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 09:45 · Score: 1
  
  I witnessed bail proceedings the other day. An equal number of male and female prisoners. Nearly all of the male charges were non-violent. Most of the female charges were violent. Not data, I know, but it said something to me. About a year ago I saw a TV ad saying what things you should tell your son to hit and what not to hit. Don't hit women and children was the message. I guess it's okay to hit other men. *sigh*
Quotes by UBfusion · 2011-12-16 03:53 · Score: 3, Informative

Could we please have a more precise summary by putting the quotes in their proper place, because I cannot decipher between what was said by the submitter and what was said by the Judge?
1. Re:Quotes by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 04:08 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The quotes in TFS are quite clear. The entire summary is quoted, because all of it was said by the submitter, paraphrasing the basic ruling of the judge. If you'd like to see the actual quotes by the judge, RTFA.
The person being "stalked" by koan · 2011-12-16 04:05 · Score: 2

"Alyce"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jetsunma_Ahkon_Lhamo
This isn't to say that William Lawrence didn't go over the line by predicting her "violent death".

--
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
1. Re:The person being "stalked" by koan · 2011-12-16 04:06 · Score: 1
  
  Oooops
  William Lawrence Cassidy is the full name.
  
  --
  "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
!= IRL by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 04:08 · Score: 0

so much for cyber-life taking over the real one.. :(
good call by shadowrat · 2011-12-16 04:10 · Score: 3, Insightful

After all the purpose of twitter is pretty much endorsed stalking.
More like IRC by ifrag · 2011-12-16 04:10 · Score: 2

To me, Twitter seems more like a giant IRC channel except that it requires explicit /unignore ("follow" in twitter terms) for anyone you care to actually see. Twitter posts are probably on average around a reasonable line on IRC, where bulletin boards actually allow for long in depth posts (something Twitter does not do).
At least the Judge had enough understanding to draw a somewhat reasonable parallel though.

--
Fear is the mind killer.
1. Re:More like IRC by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 04:20 · Score: 0
  
  He was referring to physical bulletin boards not a BBC, numbnuts.
2. Re:More like IRC by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 05:08 · Score: 0
  
  Well, I'm glad they weren't referring to the British Broadcasting Corporation. That would just be confusing!
3. Re:More like IRC by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 05:11 · Score: 0
  
  BBC = Bulletin Board Code. Thanks for playing, numbnuts.
4. Re:More like IRC by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 09:50 · Score: 0
  
  You're welcome, tinglyballs.
A Buddhist running to the courts? by Rogerborg · 2011-12-16 04:21 · Score: 1

Then I guess she believes that karmic payback ain't what it used to be.
Just another cultist who makes a living by telling others how to live their life, but can't take her own medicine. Gasps of surprise. Stalk on, bro.

--
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
1. Re:A Buddhist running to the courts? by koan · 2011-12-16 04:59 · Score: 1
  
  William Lawrence Cassidy is also a Buddhist, and is also trying to form his own "cult" and stands accused of several scams, so knowing that do you think it is out of line to seek legal help for someone "predicting" your violent death?
  In addition you do not understand Karma and what it entails, you use the common Western misunderstanding of Karma which is not the case for Buddhist.
  Karma isn't someone keeping score nor is it a shield against the bad this World has to offer.
  
  --
  "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
Wait a second ... by hymie! · 2011-12-16 04:25 · Score: 1

Didn't I see the exact opposite article yesterday?
1. Re:Wait a second ... by Golddess · 2011-12-16 04:46 · Score: 2
  
  As I understood yesterday's article, it wasn't just "the person put up a blog" (which is what this one sounds like), but rather "the person put up a blog and sent emails / phone calls / what have you to shove everything the blogger talked about in the face of the other person".
  
  --
  "I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
2. Re:Wait a second ... by jklovanc · 2011-12-16 07:20 · Score: 1
  
  There are differences between yesterday's and today's articles;
  1. Public vs private individuals. Public figures, such as religeous leaders, get much less harassment protection. If you want to be a public figure the be prepared to be harrased.
  2. The defendant in yesterday's article voluntarilly agreed to a HRO and then broke it. No HRO in today's article
  3. You have to follow someone to read their tweets. In yesterday's article the defendant sent emails.
Right to not be offended? by cheekyjohnson · 2011-12-16 04:45 · Score: 3, Funny

But what about my right to not be offended? Can't we just arrest anyone who says something that I dislike? Otherwise, they'll hurt my self-esteem!

--
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
1. Re:Right to not be offended? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 05:00 · Score: 0
  
  But what about my right to not be offended? Can't we just arrest anyone who says something that I dislike? Otherwise, they'll hurt my self-esteem!
  This guy joined the center she runs under a false name and worked his way into her inner circle with a sob story about lung cancer. The harassment started when they found out he was lying about the cancer and threw him out. You think you're joking, but try being on the receiving end of 8000+ threatening messages ("weird, horror movie descriptions" of her "violent death") under a string of different accounts (to get around Twitter's block feature) from someone like that. Twitter isn't less deserving of first amendment protection than other forms of speech, but it's not more deserving, either. Stopping a depraved person from harassing and threatening someone he's obsessed with does not endanger anyone else's free speech rights. The fact he was living in California is irrelevant; he'd moved to Maryland once to get close to her, he could very easily make the trip again.
2. Re:Right to not be offended? by pavon · 2011-12-16 05:11 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The thing is they didn't charged him with making death threats, or anything legitimate. They charged him with a stupid virtual stalking law, and the judge rightly declared that his first amendment rights trumped that law.
3. Re:Right to not be offended? by Jason+Levine · 2011-12-16 08:01 · Score: 2
  
  In which case, this wasn't so much a victory for free speech as it was a failing of the prosecution to go after the right charges.
  
  --
  My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
If he had just stuck to the truth... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 05:44 · Score: 0

The Wikipedia article appears to be white-washed, and there are a few blogs with negative reports which may actually have been created by the harasser in question. However, if you check out comments (including the Publisher's Weekly review) on the book "The Buddha from Brooklyn: A Tale of Spiritual Seduction" on Amazon you'll find that the woman he was criticizing is a nutty cult leader, who has no qualms about having her followers harass critics; a lot of this harassment seems to happen on Twitter, of all places.
It sounds like Cassidy learned his lessons a bit too well when he was part of the group...
Not so Cut and Dry by pr0fessor · 2011-12-16 05:55 · Score: 1

Sure 8000 tweets about how you disagree with a religious leader fine, but this is not the case and the article that was used in the original post does not do a good job of presenting all the facts it doesn't even give all the involved names. Do a search and find some more information before you start deciding this is a win.
A victory by Hentes · 2011-12-16 05:55 · Score: 1

For common sense and free speech.
1. Re:A victory by Tanuki64 · 2011-12-16 06:47 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, but only because the religious leader was male.
2. Re:A victory by jklovanc · 2011-12-16 07:14 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry but the religious leader in question, Alyce Zeoli, is female. That puts a hole in two of your stereotypes. (ie. all religious leaders are male and olny females get legal protection from speech)
3. Re:A victory by Tanuki64 · 2011-12-16 07:43 · Score: 1
  
  So what? So it is one of the few exceptions that prove the rule. Does not faze me a bit.
4. Re:A victory by jklovanc · 2011-12-16 09:42 · Score: 1
  
  Dogma = sustaining beliefs in the face of facts.
Man, third world ugly by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 06:17 · Score: 0

Anyway, I've got to wonder who would follow someone so moronic.
1. Re:Man, third world ugly by koan · 2011-12-16 08:55 · Score: 1
  
  The thing is, at least from my perspective, is that people are constantly searching for spiritual connection so they go to churches and temples or what not, when all the really ever had to do was quiet their mind and open themselves up, apparently this is such a simple concept very few people can buy into it in the way that I mean.
  But (again my opinion) it was the entire thing Buddha (and probably Jesus) had ever tried to convey, it's already in you and someone else can't give it to you.
  If people understood this there would be no cults, and probably no major religions either.
  
  --
  "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
2. Re:Man, third world ugly by Anonymous Coward · 2011-12-16 09:59 · Score: 0
  
  "open themselves up" to what?? To Jesus? To Buddha? To Satan?? To Bill Gates??
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