Jury Almost Fined $3.6M in Download Trial

The jury that last week slapped a Minnesota mom with a $222,000 fine for illegal file-sharing was tempted to do much worse. Jammie Thomas almost faced the maximum $3.6 million, one juror said. “You go too low, it's not going to stop the illegal downloading of music,” she told the AP. “People are going to think, ‘I could do this.’”

The jury quickly determined Thomas’ guilt, the juror said, and during deliberations focused on the penalty—between $750 and $150,000 per each of 24 songs. The jury never discussed the verdict’s effect on Thomas, who makes $36,000 a year. “You can't allow yourself to get involved emotionally,” the juror said. (More file sharing stories.)