Lori Drew Seeks Dismissal of Cyberbullying Claim

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Lori Drew, the woman charged with scheming to torment a teenager on MySpace to the point of suicide, has moved to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the government cannot possibly prove its case.

In a case that drew national media attention, Drew was charged with fraudulently creating an account on MySpace and using the account to torment, harass, humiliate and embarrass a teenager, who then killed herself. Prosecutors claim Drew then tried to cover up her actions by destroying the MySpace account.

Her motion to dismiss argues that the government failed to provide precise allegations on how it will prove fraud. She also says her actions fall outside the jurisdiction of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which she is charged with violating.

The government responded that procedural rules do not provide for a pre-trial determination of the evidence, and that a request for details on how the government will prove its case is improper and unreasonable. The government's lawyer also argued that the indictment provides ample factual detail, and that Drew's actions fall within the broad span of the CFAA.

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