Julie Amero is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, March 29, 2007. This is the sentencing portion of her case. She has been found guilty already. Julie Amero is convicted of impairing the morals of children. The computer in her classroom, where she was a substitute teacher, was displaying pornographic pop-ups. Rick Green did an excellent summary for the Hartford Courant:

“Hartz is asked if Amero’s scenario - a computer slipping into “an endless loop” of uncontrollable pornographic websites popping up - is possible.

“I’ve never seen that,” he says, “so I would have to say probably not.”

link: Enduring Storm of ‘Pop-Up’ Madness

The ‘Hartz’ in the aforementioned quote is Robert J. Hartz, who is the head of information technology for the school district. Mr. Hartz does not think that regenerating pop-up advertising happens.

If you have followed the Amero case, it is frightening how much lack of information there is in the legal system. Clearly, the courts have not caught up with the growth of technology. One would think that Julie Amero would have wide ranging support, as valid details of the school incident were made available. This, however, is not the case.

In a scathing March 18, 2007 editorial in the Norwich Bulletin, a newspaper from Ms Amero’s home state, the perspective is that Ms Amero is dangerous:

“Julie Amero does not deserve to teach in a classroom. She is incapable of ensuring the safety of children. We base this on Amero’s testimony. She is an educated woman with more than minimal substitute teaching experience, yet she was unable — or, worse, refused — to solve the pop-up issue…”

link to the editorial: Porn was Amero’s burden

The court has convicted Julie Amero. Some people in the court of public opinion believe that Julie Amero presents a danger to children. As this legal matter moves forward, let us not forget for a moment that the symbol of the courts, Lady Justice, stands with a blindfold.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tags]julie amero, law, security, pornography, schools, adware, spyware, malware, catherine forsythe[/tags]