Supreme Court Nixes Download Hearing

PAY FOR PLAY: The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a former Boston University student's constitutional challenge to a $675k penalty for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs on the Internet, though his lawyer still insists there's a chance the amount could be reduced. A jury in 2009 ordered Joel Tenenbaum to pay that amount after ascertaining he illegally downloaded and shared files while a student. A federal judge called the penalty constitutionally excessive, but the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it at the request of the R.I.A.A. Tenenbaum's attorney, Harvard law professor Charles Nesson, said the Appeals court instructed a judge to consider reducing the award regardless of the bill's constitutionality. (5/21p)