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December 2, 2008 8:31:58 PM CST

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Va. Court Voids Spam Law

Posted Sep 12, 08 1:32 PM CDT in US,  Crime & Courts 

(Newser) – Virginia’s anti-spam laws are unconstitutional because they prohibit behavior shielded by the First Amendment, the state’s supreme court ruled today. The ruling overturns the conviction of Jeremy Jaynes, who received the nation’s first felony spam conviction in 2004, the Richmond Times-Dispatch says. Prosecutors alleged Jaynes sent up to 10 million emails a day from his North Carolina home.

But the court said unanimously the Virginia law went too far, because while barring commercial speech, it also banned the “anonymous transmission of all unsolicited bulk e-mails, including those containing political, religious or other speech” protected by the Constitution. Many states and the federal government all have anti-spam laws, the AP reports. Jaynes had received 9 years in prison.

Sources Richmond Times Dispatch (VA), Associated Press

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Authorities claimed Jeremy Jaynes sent up to 10 million emails a day from his home in Raleigh, NC. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison.   (Index Stock)
A Virginia law used to Jeremy Jaynes, alleged to have sent 10 million unsolicited emails daily, violates First Amendment rights, the state's top court ruled today, overturning Jaynes' 2004 conviction.   (AP Photo)
Many states, including Virginia, have anti-spam laws, and there is a federal CAN-SPAM Act as well.   (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
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email • Virginia • free speech • spam • First Amendment • felony


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