Facebook Posting That Someone Has Herpes Is Criminal Harassment--Pennsylvania v. Cox

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Facebook Posting That Someone Has Herpes Is Criminal Harassment--Pennsylvania v. Cox

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with a comment by Eric]

Commonwealth v. Cox, 2013 PA Super 221 (Aug 2, 2013) [pdf]

What is wrong with people? What were you thinking here, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?

Lindsey Marie Cox (age 18) posted the following comment to her Facebook page:

[Victim, age 15] has herpes. Ew, that?s gross. She should stop spreading her legs like her mother.

Ill-advised, imprudent, and something that she should learn to not do if she wants to become a functioning member of online society. But criminal harassment? LOL.

The statute says that the crime of harassment occurs when someone (1) with the intent to ?harass, annoy or alarm another? (2) posts ?lewd, lascivious, threatening or obscene words? or other materials.

She was convicted following a jury trial. On appeal. Cox predictably argued that this wasn?t a matter that the Commonwealth should concern itself with, at least from the criminal side. The court rejects this argument, saying that defendant intentionally made the post, and a statement that a 15 year old is sexually active or has an STD can be considered lewd or obscene: ?Cox?s conduct was the type of conduct the legislature sought to criminalize under the harassment statute . . . .? Cox also argued that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence, but the court says she does not satisfy the high standard necessary to challenge the verdict.

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Maybe there?s some backstory there that we?re not aware of that could explain why prosecutors spent their time and energy on something like this. Even if there is one, it?s still surprising that everyone involved signed off on an adjudication that was on such shaky First Amendment grounds.

We?ve blogged a bunch about the threat cases, and the First Amendment has established case law dealing with threats. But harassment is somewhat different, and it?s not so clear that pure speech that wrankles the recipient can be proscribed. (See, e.g., US v. Cassidy (a stalking case involving a federal statute).) Here we?re talking about a single statement that was posted and then taken down. There?s no way this would constitute harassment and be unprotected on this basis. Nor is it threatening. It?s simply annoying, and that?s still protected speech.

Sure, the school could consider disciplining the student, and that question is somewhat different from whether the speech in question could form the basis of liability to the speaker. But to impose criminal liability based on this speech. That should not have gotten past a basic gut check, much less core First Amendment principles. (Needless to say, the fact that this prosecution was brought and a conviction obtained illustrates the?hopelessly problematic?breadth of the statute.)
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Eric's Comment: This is a ridiculous conviction, but due to 47 USC 230, at least the overzealous prosecutor couldn't go after Facebook for its role in this so-called harassment. However, if the state AGs convince Congress to amend Section 230 to allow state criminal prosecutions based on third party content, this is exactly the kind of situation where I'd expect Facebook to be prosecuted as well. Cf. Facebook's possible criminal prosecution in Italy for its role in a suicide due to alleged cyber-bullying. For more on this issue, see my essay against amending Section 230 to allow state criminal prosecutions.

Related posts:

Facebook Posting of Criminal Trial's Witness List Isn't a "True Threat"--US v. Amaya
Crass and Offensive Tweets by Student May not Justify Suspension -- Rosario v. Clark County School Dist.
Court Rejects Challenge to Indictment Over Facebook Threats -- US v. Michael
Court Finds That Threatening Video Posted to YouTube and Facebook Can Constitute a "True Threat" -- US v. Jeffries
Federal Prosecution Over "Threats" on Craigslist ? US v. Stock
Court Finds Juvenile Delinquent Based on Allegedly Offensive Instant Messages -- In re Alex C.
Former Employee's 'Email Barrage' Does Not Support CAN-SPAM or Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Claims -- Nyack Hosp. v. Moran
Web-based Email Bombardment Campaign Does Not Amount to a Violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act -- Pulte Homes, Inc. v. LiUNA

[image credit: Shutterstock/ Lorelyn Medina ?Illustration Featuring Employees Gossiping?]

Posted by Venkat at August 3, 2013 11:06 AM | Content Regulation

Source: http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2013/08/student_convict_1.htm

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ESPN: NCAA investigating Manziel over autographs

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) ? ESPN says the NCAA is investigating whether Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel was paid for signing hundreds of autographs in January.

Citing unidentified sources, ESPN's "Outside the Lines" said the Heisman Trophy winner signed items in exchange for a five-figure fee during his trip to Miami for the BCS championship game.

ESPN said sources told "Outside the Lines" that Manziel signed photographs, footballs, mini football helmets and other items at the request of autograph broker Drew Tieman.

Reached at his home Sunday night in Pembroke Pines, Fla., Tieman declined to make any comment or take any questions from The Associated Press.

ESPN reported that a source said James Garland, the NCAA's assistant director of enforcement, contacted Tieman and at least one person associated with the signings in June.

"We cannot comment on current, pending or potential investigations," NCAA spokeswoman Emily Potter told the AP in an email statement Sunday night.

Texas A&M also declined to comment.

"It is Texas A&M's long-standing practice not to respond to such questions concerning specific student-athletes," the school said in an email statement to the AP.

It's unclear what level of involvement the NCAA has at this point. When a player is believed to have broken rules, it's not uncommon for a school to declare that player ineligible, then ask the NCAA to investigate and reinstate the athlete's eligibility.

Nate Fitch, a friend of Manziel's, posted several tweets at that time saying he was with the Heisman winner in South Florida for the BCS title game. None of Fitch's tweets around the dates of that trip suggested anything about meeting with Tieman, or any memorabilia signings.

Tieman's Facebook page was taken down Sunday night, but cached images collected from the page included a photo of him and Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, which was purportedly taken Jan. 3, less than a week before the BCS game.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/espn-ncaa-investigating-manziel-over-autographs-002639927.html

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China lauds naval power after first Japan circuit

China's state media lauded the country's maritime power Friday after navy vessels completed their first circuit around Japan.

Beijing has been looking to expand its bluewater reach, launching its first aircraft carrier last year, and the circumnavigation of Japan sends a symbolic signal with Beijing and Tokyo at loggerheads over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

China has "crossed all the strongest parts" of the islands that stretch from Japan's northern tip to the Philippines in the south and separate it from the Pacific Ocean, said Du Wenlong, a senior researcher at a People's Liberation Army academy, according to the state-run China Daily.

China's navy is "capable of sending and supporting its warships to navigate and fight in channels far from the continent", the newspaper quoted Du as saying.

As well as the row with Tokyo, Beijing also claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, leading to disputes with several littoral states.

Du's remarks came days after five Chinese military ships circled the Japanese archipelago for the first time, the China Daily said.

Five Chinese ships returned to port on July 28 after passing through the Soya Strait, which divides northern Japan and Russia, before travelling down Japan's east coast and traversing the Miyako strait off Okinawa, the newspaper added.

Japan's defence ministry has said that patrol aircraft spotted five Chinese vessels sailing through a sea lane between Okinawa and the Miyako islands to the southwest, although they did not enter Japanese waters.

Tensions between China and its neighbours have risen in recent years, as China has boosted its naval capacity and asserted its maritime claims.

"The Chinese navy must grow into a blue water navy because all of the aggression against China in modern times came from the sea," the China Daily quoted Ou Jianping, of China's National Defence University, as saying.

China's newly-appointed President Xi Jinping has also vowed to boost his country's naval capacity since taking the ruling Communist Party's top post in November.

Source: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/China_lauds_naval_power_after_first_Japan_circuit_999.html

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Back To School Shopping At Kohl's #sponsored : Mom Knows It All ...

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Kohl?s. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

My youngest son has an extended school year, so he?s still in school for another week. Then he gets a couple of weeks off and it?s back to school. He loves school. He doesn?t mind going some places with me, but he does not love back-to-school shopping. Why? Because I do his back-to-school shopping at Kohl?s.

You see, Kohl?s is like the grocery store for me. I go in Kohl?s every week or two. I go down all the aisles. I do this because they have something for everyone. From accessories (belts, backpacks, hats, etc) to clothing to housewares to jewelry to shoes to toys, they?ve got it. I also do it because you never know what you?re going to find on sale there. They have some really awesome sales. My oldest son likes to give his girlfriends nice gifts. He?s very generous. With my money, LOL. Since he is usually spending my money, I make sure we shop smart. We?ve gotten gorgeous real jewelry at Kohl?s for ridiculously low prices ? a necklace, a ring and a pair of earrings. Kohl?s is the only place I will buy spacers and Individuality beads for the bracelet my parents gave me a while back.

But besides the sales, there are two big reasons I shop there. One is because I get money back when I shop there, through the Kohl?s cash program that they run rather frequently. For every $50 dollars that you spend, you get another $10 back to spend on your next trip. (If you also have the Kohl?s charge you get discounts as well.) The other is because Kohl?s is the only place I can find certain things, the most important of which is my youngest son?s pants. My son has problems with buttons and zippers. We never want to hinder his efforts to use the toilet, so we rarely put him in jeans. But fleece sweats just don?t really look all that nice, as comfy as they may be. So, in pants weather, we usually keep him in athletic pants. The non-noisy non-windbreaker style. They look like this.

Kohl?s is the only store I have ever found with those athletic pants in his size. And I?ve looked elsewhere. And when I saw elsewhere, I mean just about everywhere. I stock up on them when I find them. I get them in as many different colors as I can find, and pair them with shirts, which seem to be perpetually on sale at Kohl?s.

I?m heading to Kohl?s this weekend to get some back-to-school shopping done before our camping trip. I?ll be looking for new underwear (don?t all school years start out with that?), shirts and pants for my youngest. I?ll also be looking for some shorts for my oldest. Kohl?s is the only place we?ve found that has the style of shorts he likes in lots of colors and patterns.

If you?re getting ready to do some back-to-school shopping for your family (or, cough, a little shopping for just yourself, cough), check out the Kohl?s near you.

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Tags: back to school, Kohl's, Mom Central

Category: This and That

Source: http://www.valmg.com/index.php/2013/back-to-school-shopping-at-kohls-sponsored/

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Tom Lindley: When it comes to football, are we using our heads ...

It?s time for a return to some old-fashioned, smash-mouth football, which is a good thing unless you happen to be the one getting smashed in the mouth, I guess.

The violent nature of the game, which is built around high-speed collisions and jarring tackles, sells tickets. But perhaps at no other time have players, coaches, fans and administrators been more worried about football?s inherent dangers, especially those linked to traumatic brain injuries.

Concussions are a hot topic in all sports ? not just on football fields but any playing surface. Not just for boys and men, but also girls and women. But in few sports are head injuries as much of a focus as they?ve become in football.

We fans live and die with each heart-pounding play, but football is a vicarious experience that comes with a heavy price. We?re attracted by the game?s fierce nature but worry about its brutality, fearing the players have become too big, too strong and too fast.

The suicides of several former high-profile NFL stars ? Ray Easterling, Dave Duerson and especially Junior Seau ? have created a frenzy. Among the most concerned are parents who question if allowing their children to play football and other impact sports is the right thing to do.

?We get the Junior Seau question a lot. ?Is that what my kid is going to be like??? Dr. Michael O?Brien of the sports concussion clinic at Boston?s Children?s Hospital told The New York Times. ?Parents are sitting in our office wringing their hands with nervousness.?

The bad news is that concussions are serious injuries, and reports show more and more athletes are being treated for them. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that emergency rooms treated 173,000 temporary brain injuries related to sports or recreation among people younger than 19. Worse yet, the CDC reported, hospital visits rose 60 percent in the previous decade.

The good news is that concussions generally aren?t fatal, and players return to practice after a few days or a week. The worry should be that players return to action too quickly; a repeat blow leads to a much more serious medical condition.

The problem is drawing attention from all corners. Everyone, especially those connected to football, are looking for guidelines and solutions ? anything to give them comfort they?re doing the right things to protect players. But if finding ways to significantly reduce the number of brain injuries is the goal, the likelihood of that happening anytime soon isn?t promising.

Doctors in sports medicine report there is no simple test to confirm whether an athlete has even had a concussion. A brain scan might disclose bleeding, but in most cases a diagnosis involves a doctor conducting a neurological exam. Symptoms include confusion, headaches, vomiting, irritability and drowsiness, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

In football, some believe constructing a better helmet will greatly reduce brain trauma.

So far, that hasn?t happened.

Helmets are designed to prevent skull fractures, and they earn good marks for that. However, they don?t protect athletes from brain injuries.

Bill Simpson, recognized as auto racing?s ?Godfather of Safety,? set out to build a better football helmet using carbon fibers and Kevlar. Professional players gave it good reviews. But asked if he could claim that his helmet would reduce concussions, Simpson was adamant in responding to a question from a Popular Science reporter: ?Oh, hell no. I would never make a claim like that.?

Most serious injuries result from the whip action involving the head. It?s the force of the collision that causes the brain to move within the skull, resulting in a concussion. What worries researchers the most are repeated hits and the long-term impact of numerous concussions. It?s also an area that doctors understand least.

In the mean time, litigation is mounting. The NFL and NCAA face major lawsuits from players who claim they sustained life-altering brain injuries. High schools aren?t immune from legal action, either.

The dilemma is challenging at the start of a new football season. Rabid fans love their sport. Administrators have a responsibility to protect players without changing the game.

Is there a way to strike a balance, to protect both the sport and its players?

That?s a question that so far remains unanswered.

Tom Lindley is a national sports columnist for CNHI News Service. You can write to him at tlindley@cnhi.com.

Source: http://daltondailycitizen.com/sports/x1938687250/Tom-Lindley-When-it-comes-to-football-are-we-using-our-heads

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Ball State University Denounces Intelligent Design, Keeps Professor Accused of ID Bias

August 2, 2013|2:37 pm

Professor Jo Ann Gora, president of Ball State University, announced Wednesday that while Physics Prof. Eric Hedin would remain, intelligent design would not be taught as part of a science course.

"Intelligent design is overwhelmingly deemed by the scientific community?as a religious belief and not a scientific theory," said Gora in a statement sent to faculty and staff.

"Said simply, to allow intelligent design to be presented to science students as a valid scientific theory would violate the academic integrity of the course as it would fail to accurately represent the consensus of science scholars."

Colleen Flaherty of Inside Higher Ed?reported that Ball State and Hedin are working together to make sure future controversies over intelligent design in the curriculum do not happen.

Hedin gained headlines earlier this year when a course of his, known as "The Boundaries of Science," was criticized for allegedly being biased toward intelligent design.

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In May, at the urging of an evolutionary biology professor and blogger, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Ball State demanding an investigation, which would be performed during the summer.

Academic Freedom

Hedin was not without his supporters, as the Seattle-based intelligent design group, The Discovery Institute, argued in favor of Hedin's course in the name of academic freedom.

Dr. John G. West, vice president of the Discovery Institute, provided The Christian Post with a statement he wrote regarding Ball State's decision and Gora's remarks on intelligent design.

"Memo to President Gora: Academic freedom was designed to protect dissenting and unpopular views among faculty. That's the whole point," wrote West on the site evolutionnews.org.

"Redefining it as the 'freedom' to teach only the majority view isn't academic freedom; it's a power play right out of the pages of George Orwell's 1984."

In an interview with CP, West said that the decision regarding Hedin was problematic due to the lack of consultation from experts in Hedin's field.

"It is outrageous that President Gora is trying to censor a physicist from talking about the evidence for cosmic design that is discussed by top physicists throughout the discipline," said West.

"The people leading the charge against Hedin largely have no academic qualifications whatever in the area of physics. ... And the committee charged to investigate Hedin didn't even contain a single physicist, even though that was the focus of his course."

Academic Integrity

Hedin's "The Boundaries of Science" course's controversial content was publicized on the blog "Why Evolution is True," which is overseen by University of Chicago ecology professor Jerry A. Coyne.

Coyne told The Christian Post that he first became aware of the course and its questionable content via an anonymous source living in Muncie who talked with a Ball State student about the matter.

"When I saw the syllabus, which was heavily loaded with Intelligent Design, Christian apologetics and no counteracting views?I thought this is very bizarre for a straight science course," said Coyne.

Coyne told CP that he proceeded to contact Ball State officials about the matter, who proceeded to tell him that they did not consider his concerns valid. From there he contacted FFRF.

"I brought it to the attention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation as a potential violation of the First Amendment. Basically, they took it from there," said Coyne.

Regarding the decision by Gora, Coyne told CP that he was pleased with the decision since it involved both Hedin remaining at the university and his course being removed.

"I couldn't have asked for a better result," said Coyne, who stressed that contrary to some claims, he had never wanted to see Hedin fired.

"There were a number of things in [Gora's] statement that was completely unambiguous. It stands up for good science."

"College is for students to explore a variety of viewpoints. On that, Gora is absolutely right. It's just that was not what Hedin was doing."

Neither Ball State University nor Professor Eric Hedin returned comment to The Christian Post by press time.

Source: http://www.christianpost.com/news/ball-state-university-denounces-intelligent-design-keeps-professor-accused-of-id-bias-101472/

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Breath analysis reliably indicates presence, level of infection in mice

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Breath analysis may prove to be an accurate, noninvasive way to quickly determine the severity of bacterial and other infections, according to a new study.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/CdQxPn32bFc/130801095948.htm

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