'If violating user agreements is a crime, millions of Americans are probably committing crimes on a daily basis,' Lori Drew's lawyer writes.
By Gil Kaufman

Tina Meier holds two pictures of her daughter, Megan, in November 2007
Photo: Tom Gannam/ AP Images
Two months after Lori Drew was charged with a count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing a computer without authorization for her part in a MySpace hoax that was connected to the suicide of a 13-year-old girl, her lawyers have argued that the charges should be dropped.
Drew, 49, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles in May after prosecutors claimed she used a fake MySpace persona to participate in the bullying of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, teen Megan Meier, who hanged herself in October 2006 shortly after being "dumped" by a virtual 16-year-old boyfriend who prosecutors said was created in part by Drew.
According to the Los Angeles Times, one of Drew's defense lawyers, H. Dean Steward, argued in federal court on Wednesday that there is no law that prohibits the behavior his client engaged in, and so the charges against her should be dropped. In a series of three motions, Steward claimed that millions of Internet users make up fake or anonymous identities all the time and are not prosecuted for it.
"The government, in its zeal to charge Lori Drew with something, anything, has tried to criminalize everyday, ordinary conduct," Steward wrote, according to the paper. Steward said that by using a criminal statue that is typically employed to trap computer hackers or deceitful government employees -- the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act -- federal prosecutors went beyond existing legal limits to charge his client.
During the trial, investigators said that Drew and one of her teenage employees "instigated and monitored" the fake MySpace profile of "Josh Evans" in order to see what Meier was saying about Drew's daughter after the two girls had a falling out. Local and federal prosecutors in Missouri had investigated the case first and concluded that, while Drew's alleged actions might be seen as morally suspect, they could not find a legal means to pursue a criminal case.
But federal prosecutors in Los Angeles launched their own investigation with the help of prosecutors in Missouri and the FBI by making a connection through the Beverly Hills-based MySpace. Prosecutors accused Drew of creating the fake account and then allegedly using it to gather information on Meier in violation of MySpace rules and using that information to "inflict emotional distress" on the teenager. Steward claimed in his filing that there was no clear proof that whoever set up the Josh Evans account knowingly violated MySpace's terms of service or even read them.
"If violating user agreements is a crime, millions of Americans are probably committing crimes on a daily basis and don't know it," Steward wrote, according to the Times.
Federal prosecutors plan to file a response to the motions in court next week and said they are not considering a plea agreement. Drew has pleaded not guilty in the case, which is set to go to trial on October 7. She could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.



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