United States v. Councilman
| United States v. Councilman | |
|---|---|
F. Supp. 2d 319 (D. Mass. 2003) | |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Panel: Juan R. Torruella, Conrad K. Cyr, Kermit Lipez En banc: Michael Boudin, Torruella, Bruce M. Selya, Cyr, Sandra Lynch, Lipez, Jeffrey R. Howard |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Panel: Torruella, joined by Cyr |
| Majority | En banc: Lipez, joined by Boudin, Selya, Lynch, Howard |
| Dissent | Panel: Lipez |
| Dissent | En banc: Torruella, joined by Cyr |
| Laws applied | |
| Electronic Communications Privacy Act | |
United States v. Councilman, 373 F.3d 197 (1st Cir. 2004),
Indictment
Defendant Bradford C. Councilman was Vice President of Interloc, Inc., which ran an online rare and
On July 11, 2001, a
Dismissal and reinstatement
Councilman moved to dismiss the indictment for failure to state an offense under the Wiretap Act, arguing that the intercepted e-mail messages were in "electronic storage," as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2510(17),
The court held: "Although the text of the statute does not specify whether the term "electronic communication" includes communications in electronic storage, the legislative history of the ECPA indicates that Congress intended the term to be defined broadly.[8] Furthermore, that history confirms that Congress did not intend, by including electronic storage within the definition of wire communications, to thereby exclude electronic storage from the definition of electronic communications."[2]
Final Disposition
In February 2007, Councilman was acquitted of all charges, the Associated Press reported. The case against him was based on claims by two Interloc employees that he had instructed them to keep copies of the mail. Councilman denied those claims, a detail not previously noted in press reports. In 2007 a Massachusetts jury agreed that the employees' claims were not credible, that Councilman had not instructed them, and dismissed the case.
See also
References
- ^ a b United States v. Councilman, 373 F.3d 197 (1st Cir. 2004).
- ^ a b c United States v. Councilman, 418 F.3d 67 (1st Cir. 2005).
- ^ 18 U.S.C. § 371.
- ^ a b 18 U.S.C. § 2511.
- ^ .
- ^ United States v. Councilman, 245 F. Supp. 2d 319 (D. Mass. 2003).
- ^ McCullagh, Declan (October 10, 2005). "Police blotter: Is 'hacker' innocent?". CNET. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
- ^ Timothy J. Miano, "Formalist Statutory Construction and the Doctrine of Fair Warning: An Examination of United States v. Councilman," George Mason Law Review (14 Geo. Mason L. Rev 513) (2007).
External links
- Text of United States v. Councilman, 373 F.3d 197 (1st Cir. 2004) is available from: CourtListener Google Scholar Justia OpenJurist
- Text of United States v. Councilman, 418 F.3d 67 (1st Cir. 2005) is available from: CourtListener Google Scholar Justia OpenJurist
- EPIC page with links to amicus briefs