Woof. This should stop most people from illegally downloading songs. Or not. But wow… my heart goes out to Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a fellow Minnesotan, who got nailed for downloading music. According to Opposing Views:
The U.S. Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from Jammie Thomas-Rasset, of Brainerd, Minn., who was ordered to pay record companies $222,000 for the unauthorized downloading of 54 songs via the Kazaa file-sharing network.
The justices let stand the massive civil judgment against Thomas-Rasset, who claimed in court papers that the six-figure payment was excessive, per the Associated Press.
The average settlement for this type of activity is $3500. This is how her case unfolded:
In three trials, the amount that Thomas-Rasset was required to pay swung from $222,000 to $1.92 million, and later $1.5 million. In 2011, a lower court upheld a previous ruling that she should be ordered to pay only $54,000.
However, in 2012, an appellate judge ruled that Thomas-Rasset should be obligated to pay $222,000, reports Arstechnica.com.
