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Nikki Catsouras: Elevating the Dead's Right to Privacy Over the Living's Right to Free Speech

Nikki Catsouras was the product of an indulgent Orange County, California lifestyle.  When she was 18, she took her father's car without his permission (he called 9-1-1 to report her) and took it on a joy ride.  She got the Porsche up to 100 miles-per-hour and clipped another car, before crashing to her own death.The California Highway Patrol recovered her body and the car.  They took a bunch of pictures of the death scene.  A couple of CHP officers forwarded these pictures to civilians.  Eventually, the pictures made their way around the Internet: They went viral.Some sociopaths forwarded the pictures to the Catsouras family.  Some people even created an e-mail account in Nikki Catsouras' name, and sent e-mails saying things like, "Look at me!" Cruel stuff, though the legal issue presented in Catsouras v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime & Federalism on January 31, 2010 (boomark / email).