Jammie Thomas and Lawyer - Credit: mightyomedia on Flickr
U.S. District Judge Michael Davis of Duluth, Minnesota, has declared a mistrial in the case of Jammie Thomas. This (at least temporarily) gets rid of the $222,000 penalty 24 tracks she made publicly available on Kazaa.
“Jury Instruction No. 15 was erroneous, and that error substantially prejudiced Thomas’ rights. Based on the court’s error in instructing the jury, it grants Thomas a new trial,” the judge ruled (.pdf).
Still, Judge Davis’ decision does not derail the RIAA’s case against Thomas on retrial or any other pending or future case. Davis ruled that the downloads from Thomas’ open share folder that RIAA investigators made, 24 in all, “can form the basis of an infringement claim.” The RIAA’s investigators make downloads in every case.
This is a pretty big deal. I’m not getting too optimistic yet though.