Internet worm writer stands trial (Internet)

[Cris Simpson]

da...@umbc2.umbc.edu (Damon Kelley; (RJE)) writes:
> [...]
> When I read the article that I got the above information from,
>I was a bit shocked that the jurors were deliberately picked by the
>U.S. Justice Department lawyers because didn't know *anything* about
>computers. Would the jurors understand enough of the computer talk
>thrown between defense and prosecutor to reach a truly informed
>verdict?
>
> My mother and I discussed the issue. I said that the trial
>would be unbalanced and handled badly because every little techie term
>would have to be explained over and over again to the jury, slowing
>down the trial process. Isn't a "jury of his peers" called for here?
> [...]
>Source: _The_Baltimore_Evening_Sun_, January 15, 1990. Section D, top
>of page 2: "'Illiterates' Judging Computer Genius." [..]

One of the most frightening experiences of my life was being
called to jury duty. I got to see what a 'jury of my peers' would
consist of. It gives one a lot of incentive not to get caught. (:-)

IANAL, but I see a problem in the future with technology-related
litigation. What good is the right to have your case tried before
a jury of idiots? For example, consider Intel v. NEC or Apple v.
MS & HP. It's hard enough explaining the concepts involved to a
reasonably intelligent judge, but a jury picked because they didn't
know anything?

I suppose that if a jury of people from Washington, DC can be found
who never heard of Ollie North, I suppose there's a jury for all of
us... (:-)

cris

*IANAL: I Am Not A Lawyer. (But my wife is.)

[Ralph Treitz]

It was interesting to hear about the sequel of the Internet-worm-story.
For our newspapers didn't mention anything about the trial, I'd like to
hear in this newsgroup, what's going on, and what will happen to Mr. Morris.
Thanks.

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[Robert Rubinoff]

biar!tre...@uunet.uu.net (Robert J Woodhead) writes:
> [...] In my circle of admittedly bright and educated friends, not
>a single one has, to my knowledge, ever been accepted for jury duty.

Well, I've never met RJW, so I don't qualify as a friend of his, but
I'm a PhD student in Computer Science at Penn, so I'm definitely
educated and presumably bright as well (at least I like to thing so).
I was just selected to serve on a jury even though I mentioned during
the selection process that I was a PhD student. So I guess it's not
impossible.

Robert