TX- Texas blogger jailed after failing to turn PC over to judge

6-5-2009 Texas:

Fifty-three-year-old Lyndal Harrington blogged some nasty things about Anna Nicole Smith's mother, resulting in a defamation lawsuit. The court ordered her to turn over her computer for evidence; after failing to do so, Harrington was thrown in jail. The case highlights the delicacies of today's blogging world, as more and more people are sued for voicing their "opinions" online.

Don't mess with Texas, especially if you're a blogger on somebody's bad side. Houston-based blogger Lyndal Harrington was jailed last week for failing to turn over her computer as part of a defamation case involving the late Anna Nicole Smith. The 53-year-old grandmother claimed that her house was broken into and her computer was stolen after the court had subpoenaed it for evidence. US District Judge Tony Lindsay didn't buy the story, however, and jailed her for contempt.

Anna Nicole's mother, Virgie Arthur, first sued Harrington and a number of others after Harrington wrote blog posts at Rose Speaks, essentially claiming that Arthur had married her stepbrother and abused Smith when she was younger. Others named in the suit include three other bloggers, Howard Stern, CBS, and the father of Smith's daughter, Larry Birkhead. Supposedly, the group conspired to defame Arthur so that she wouldn't get custody of Smith's daughter (who, coincidentally, may inherit almost $100 million—we're sure that has nothing to do with it, though).

As part of the case, Harrington was ordered to turn over her computer for evidence, but she told the court she was unable to do so due to its being stolen. A police officer testified to the court that he believed the theft was staged, leading Judge Lindsay to call Harrington a liar and hold her in contempt of court. She was jailed the Friday before Memorial Day weekend for four days and ordered to produce the computer by July 2—or else. The problem? Harrington says she still doesn't have the computer. "I can’t turn over something I don’t have," she told the Houston Chronicle.

Despite all this, Harrington insists that she did nothing more than voice her opinion online and that she did not conspire with anyone. "I got into this because my business had fallen apart in this economy and it was something to do," Harrington told AFP. "I developed a lot of friendships with women who are retired or ill at home."

Bloggers have increasingly found themselves in hot water for voicing their opinions over the past few years—last year, the University of Washington released a report saying that the number of blogger arrests around the world had tripled since 2006. Media Blogger Association president Robert Cox seems to agree with this general trend, telling the Chronicle that lawsuits against bloggers have more than doubled every year for the past five years. "Bloggers have a tendency to believe myths—like that they are judgment-proof," he said.

As for Harrington, things aren't looking good—she says she can no longer pay for a lawyer to represent her, and clearly the judge in this case isn't showing any sympathy. If she doesn't have a computer to hand over come July 2, Harrington faces being thrown in jail again, and for who knows how long.

..Source.. by Jacqui Cheng