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Spam conviction overturned

Judge says antispam law used to convict Jessica DeGroot perplexed jurors.

Jo Best Special to CNET News.com
One of the first felony spam convictions in the United States has been overturned. Judge Thomas D. Horne ruled Tuesday that there was no "rational basis" for Jessica DeGroot's conviction. He added that the antispam law used to convict DeGroot and her brother, Jeremy Jaynes, had perplexed jurors. He said the jurors may have got "lost" in the law, according to reports. Jessica DeGroot was jailed along with her brother, Jeremy Jaynes, earlier this year after being convicted of spamming offenses.

DeGroot was sentenced to pay $7,500 after the pair were found guilty of sending thousands e-mails to AOL addresses in 2003. The jury recommended that her brother spend nine years in prison for masterminding the spam operation.

Jo Best of Silicon.com reported from London.