A US judge has dismissed a felony spamming conviction that had been called one of the first of its kind, saying he found no ‘rational basis’ for the verdict and wondering if jurors were confused by technical evidence.

Ruling on Tuesday, Judge Thomas D Horne also said jurors may have [become] ‘lost’ when navigating Virginia’s new anti-spam law in the case of Jessica DeGroot. DeGroot, 28, and Jaynes, 30, were each convicted in November for using false Internet addresses to send mass email advertisements through an AOL server in Loudoun.

Jaynes’ attorney, David A. Oblon, had argued that the spamming was not conducted in Virginia and that there was no evidence that e-mails were unsolicited. Oblon said he would appeal.

More background about the case can be located here. View the CNN trial report here.

What this The Age article doesn’t mention, however, is that the conviction of the other accused, Jaynes, was upheld, it being accepted that he was the leader of the operation. Essentially, then, this isn’t as big a deal as many are claiming.

Source: The Age