[Still Thinking]

There is no choice. The statutory minimum is $750 per violation. There were 37 violations. Thus, the damage award is $27,750.

Of course there's a choice. If you believe the statutory penalty is disproportionate for the crime, you might reason "Well, I know she did the crime, but the penalty is disproportionate and I have no way to modify it but to find in her favor. Maybe next time the labels pay to have a law passed they'll put in a more reasonable penalty. Then I might uphold it."

[Publius Valerius]

"Well, I know she did the crime, but the penalty is disproportionate and I have no way to modify it but to find in her favor. Maybe next time the labels pay to have a law passed they'll put in a more reasonable penalty. Then I might uphold it."

Yes, I'm sure that when the now-existing Copyright Act was passed in 1976, the record labels were salivating at the opportunity to nail people who didn't pay 99 cents to download .mp3s.