When an Ontario judge issued a press ban on information relating to a sensational murder case, curious Canadians used the infosphere to break the ban. The Homolka case demonstrates that sensitive information cannot be kept out of the infosphere and that gag orders have become impossible to enforce . Ultimate responsibility for the transfer of files and information was at issue in the conspiracy trial of David Lamacchia , the MIT student who allegedly allowed his Internet-accessible BBS to be used for the transmission of copyrighted commercial software. The case attracted additional online interest because Lamacchia's defense counsel issued press releases via the Internet. People accused of crime often have no choice but to go to trial on charges that would have been plea-bargained under the old law.
Public opinion is said to favor tougher laws , the death penalty and Singapore -style punishment.
More is at stake than ratings. We could all be students of justice. Armed with the same knowledge that guided Jefferson and Lincoln , we can use the Web to take back the law. When Cyber Rights and Criminal Justice was written in 1994, there were a few dozen legal sites on the Internet. Now, there are hundreds of thousands of good legal resource sites.