Judge refuses guilty plea in AOL spam case News
Judge refuses guilty plea in AOL spam case

[JURIST] Judge Alvin Hellerstein of Manhattan federal court refused Tuesday to accept an ex-AOL employee's plea of guilty to charges of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property, saying that he wasn't sure the man had actually committed a crime under the new federal can-spam legislation. Jason Smathers, fired by AOL in June, used another employee's access code to steal a list of AOL customers and sold it to spammers for more than $100,000. Judge Hellerstein ruled that it was not clear that Smathers had deceived anyone, a requirement under the "can-spam" legislation. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Charles Manson sentenced to death

On April 19, 1971, Charles Manson was sentenced to death for ordering the murders of Sharon Tate and others. The sentence was then commuted to life after the Supreme Court of California overturned the death penalty in 1972. Learn more about the trial of Charles Manson from the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law.

The Beatles signed 10-year partnership

On April 19, 1967, John, Paul, George and Ringo - aka "The Beatles" - signed a partnership deed agreeing that the group would continue for a (further) period of ten years. When The Beatles split up prematurely in 1970, Paul applied to have the partnership terminated and a receiver appointed.

Read a legal analysis of Paul McCartney’s 1970 lawsuit against John, George and Ringo.

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