Convicted File-Sharer Wants Third Trial

The Minnesota mom convicted of file-sharing and fined $1.92 million wants the damages set aside or a third trial.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota mom who was convicted again of file-sharing in her second trial and given a $1.92 million fine, is seeking yet a third trial.

Calling her conviction for downloading and sharing a grand total of 24 songs through Kazaa "excessive, shocking, and monstrous," she had her lawyers argue a motion that the damages awarded to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) were “grossly excessive,” and that rather than pursue justice, they instead made an example of her.

The filing read:

"The plaintiffs did not even attempt to offer evidence of their actual injuries, seeking, instead, an award of statutory damages entirely for the purposes of punishment and deterrence."

"An award of statutory damages of $1.92m for 24 songs assessed as punishment, not compensation, shocks the conscience and must be set aside."

The motion goes on to point out that each of the songs can be purchased for $1.29 in iTunes, making the $80,000 per song for than 63,000 times its current value.

Her lawyers are requesting that the fine either be set aside, or that she be granted a new trial, since the fine is in violation of the Fifth Amendment, according to The Register.