Judge Grants Lori Drew's Motion for Acquittal on Misdemeanor Counts

As noted on Concurring Opinions, Judge George Wu ruled Friday that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s terms prohibiting accessing a computer without authorization or “in excess of” authorization could not be used to prosecute Lori Drew for her posting of false MySpace profile information.  Judge Wu found the statute’s terms void for vagueness, failing to provide constitutionally adequate notice that a violation of a website’s Terms of Service agreement could trigger criminal liability.  The judge concluded that reading the Act to cover any TOS violation would render the Act overbroad and that the statutory terms failed to provide even “minimal guidelines to govern law enforcement.”   

 
JFB