Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
18 Month-Old Sues Parents For Publishing Pictures Without Consent
Grand Rapids, MI—Just outside the municipal courthouse in Grand Rapids a crowd of reporters, lawyers and curious citizens gathered to try and catch a glimpse of what some people are calling the biggest exploitation case since Jesse Jackson accused Martin Luther King Jr. of using the Civil Rights movement to get some trim on the side.
Hunter Trapper Jackson, an 18 month-old child from Comstock Park, just north of Grand Rapids, is suing his parents, Gil and Mary Ann Jackson, for publishing multiple pictures of him without his consent. Among them are pictures from the day he was born, his first time on a changing table, several of him sleeping, the one of his dad kissing him on the forehead, and of course, twelve of him wearing nothing but diapers. Hunter’s legal representative, Kenneth McCormick III, stated that the demands are very reasonable and Hunter just wants his fair share of the attention drawn from these photographs.
In the last 18 months, the Jacksons posted close to 300 pictures. 215 of these pictures contained only the image of Hunter while the remaining pictures included images of the parents as well. The pictures that feature Hunter alone garnered 275 Likes and 162 Comments. Hunter is demanding that all of these Likes and Comments be moved to his own Facebook account which he opened last week. In the pictures that include his parents, he is demanding 50% of the total Likes and Comments.
Mary Ann was heard venting outside the courthouse because she could not believe the “audacity” of these demands. She was quoted as saying “. . . I posted those pictures because I wanted the attention, if he wanted the attention he should have opened his account sooner.” While Gil’s name is on the Gil and Mary Ann Jackson Facebook page, he neither has an input on the page nor could he be reached for comment.
The McCormick firm also cross referenced Mary Ann’s 612 friends and found that 5 of them were registered on the Megan’s Law website. When asked about these 5 friends, Mary Ann ensured the jury that she had not met any of them personally. McCormick proceeded to ask whether or not Mary Ann was at all concerned with her child’s safety seeing as she did very little to screen the people she was letting into her son’s personal life. She responded citing her constitutional right to concern herself with the quantity of friends she has rather than worry about the effect they could have on her son. This constitutional right has not yet been confirmed.
The case has received a lot of attention, which in turn has prompted several mothers to request Mary Ann as a friend on Facebook. Mary Ann said she could not be happier with the added attention, she has added 526 friends in less than a week, none of which she has met in person. On the other side, Rufus Wayne, the spokesdog for the Delegation of Exploited Dogs on Facebook (DEDF), said he fully supports Hunter’s plight and the delegation is behind him 100 %. The next hearing is set for April 21st, but the case will likely be drawn out for several more months. Mark Zuckerberg could not be reached for comment.
Hunter Trapper Jackson, an 18 month-old child from Comstock Park, just north of Grand Rapids, is suing his parents, Gil and Mary Ann Jackson, for publishing multiple pictures of him without his consent. Among them are pictures from the day he was born, his first time on a changing table, several of him sleeping, the one of his dad kissing him on the forehead, and of course, twelve of him wearing nothing but diapers. Hunter’s legal representative, Kenneth McCormick III, stated that the demands are very reasonable and Hunter just wants his fair share of the attention drawn from these photographs.
In the last 18 months, the Jacksons posted close to 300 pictures. 215 of these pictures contained only the image of Hunter while the remaining pictures included images of the parents as well. The pictures that feature Hunter alone garnered 275 Likes and 162 Comments. Hunter is demanding that all of these Likes and Comments be moved to his own Facebook account which he opened last week. In the pictures that include his parents, he is demanding 50% of the total Likes and Comments.
Mary Ann was heard venting outside the courthouse because she could not believe the “audacity” of these demands. She was quoted as saying “. . . I posted those pictures because I wanted the attention, if he wanted the attention he should have opened his account sooner.” While Gil’s name is on the Gil and Mary Ann Jackson Facebook page, he neither has an input on the page nor could he be reached for comment.
The McCormick firm also cross referenced Mary Ann’s 612 friends and found that 5 of them were registered on the Megan’s Law website. When asked about these 5 friends, Mary Ann ensured the jury that she had not met any of them personally. McCormick proceeded to ask whether or not Mary Ann was at all concerned with her child’s safety seeing as she did very little to screen the people she was letting into her son’s personal life. She responded citing her constitutional right to concern herself with the quantity of friends she has rather than worry about the effect they could have on her son. This constitutional right has not yet been confirmed.
The case has received a lot of attention, which in turn has prompted several mothers to request Mary Ann as a friend on Facebook. Mary Ann said she could not be happier with the added attention, she has added 526 friends in less than a week, none of which she has met in person. On the other side, Rufus Wayne, the spokesdog for the Delegation of Exploited Dogs on Facebook (DEDF), said he fully supports Hunter’s plight and the delegation is behind him 100 %. The next hearing is set for April 21st, but the case will likely be drawn out for several more months. Mark Zuckerberg could not be reached for comment.
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