lucy24 - 11:44 pm on Dec 7, 2011 (gmt 0)

She was convicted in a trial by jury and found guilty of defamation.

Uhm, no, she wasn't, unless there's a whole separate story that neither the Guardian nor the Seattle Times saw fit to mention. She was sued, meaning it's a civil case, not criminal. And there is no mention of a jury; the article consistently refers to the judge's decision.

$2.5m is silly, though. It would have more impact if the court assessed damages that an individual human could realistically pay.