--- a/web/application.py	Fri Mar 14 11:11:28 2014 +0100
+++ b/web/application.py	Thu Mar 13 17:01:58 2014 +0100
@@ -581,7 +581,9 @@
         status = httplib.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR
         if isinstance(ex, PublishException) and ex.status is not None:
             status = ex.status
-        req.status_out = status
+        if req.status_out < 400:
+            # don't overwrite it if it's already set
+            req.status_out = status
         json_dumper = getattr(ex, 'dumps', lambda : unicode(ex))
         return json_dumper()