Connecticut Popup Accused Gets New Trial

The biggest Internet court case of the year has just gone to extra innings as a judge ordered a new trial. It doesn’t involve giant corporations. Instead, it revolves around pornographic popupson a classroom computer. If found guilty, Connecticut substitute teacher Julie Amero faces up to 40 years in jail for allowing pupils to view pornography on a classroom computer. It’s a trialthat’s generated a vast amount of online interest, pulling in everyone from bloggers to security experts.   Amero was initially convicted in January of impairing the morals of children.However, when she appeared for sentencing on Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Hillary Strackbein instead ordered a fresh trial in the case.   Doubts about the prosecution’s case were raisedafter a forensic examination of the classroom computer was carried out by independent security experts, which led them to doubt the version of events put forward in court by the state.   Fromthere the computer was examined at a state lab, which confirmed the findings of the experts and added more questions about the state’s initial evidence.   As she called for a new trial,Judge Strackbein stated,   “The jury may have relied, at least in part, on that faulty information.”   The state had contended that Amero must have visited pornographic websites in order for the popups to appear on the computer. Amero said, in part, that it was possible students had surfed to the sites while she was out of the room. The popups could have been stoppedby shutting down the computer, but Amero said she’d been told to leave it on.   When examined, it was shown that the computer lacked a firewall and so could have been a victim of spywarethat displayed the popups. Her attorney stated that if this evidence had been available at the original trial, the accusation would have quickly been dismissed.   No date has yet been set forthe new trial.