Computer Fraud and Abuse Act - A tool with Criminal & Civil Consequences

The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act provides criminal and civil penalties for wrongfully accessing a computer to do harmful things [maybe some of the hard drive damage done by some of Postmus' assessor buds triggers liability under this law??]
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While the CFAA has been used by companies against departing company employees who improperly delete, alter or take information, the CFAA also can apply when companies access competitors' websites to for competitive benefit in violation of websites' terms of service, creating fictitious profiles to snoop about what people are doing online or wrongfully access people's paid online subscription services [wonder if this may include Mitzelfelt's accessing county records to generate a label list for his political mailers while a sitting county supervisor?].
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CFAA §1030(g) provides for a civil remedy and requires a $5,000 loss. In addition to compensatory damages, the injured plaintiff can seek injunctive relief or other equitable relief. The statute appears short (losses within one year of the action's filing)
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A "loss" counting toward the $5,000 threshold under CFAA is not stolen intellectual property, regardless of its value, nor are privacy invasions and/or personally identifiable information, regardless of how valuable. The "damage" must be a "cost"
to the victim like the costs to investigate, respond or remedy the damage the violation caused to the data or computer, any interruption of service, any fees a computer forensics firm charges to secure the violated computer or to investigate the damage caused to the computer and restore lost or damaged data.
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A nice link and more detailed treatment of the statute and tactics is found at http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202537182389&rss=cc as is the email address of the attorney in Texas who wrote the infomative article.
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Definitely a "thinking-out-of-the-box" tool.

INTERESTING LINK on PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT

http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/briefs/sept10/35271Appellant.pdf [Case was remanded to trial for retrial due to prosecutorial misconduct--not a bad brief]

Candy Man is Being Chased??

To some of us that may remember, Brett Granlund's family was involved in the boxed candy business. The former State Assemblyman and current (apparently) political lobbying firm owner is being looked for to answer some grand jury questions? Do I recall Granlund being the man who Postmus talked to before coming into the District Attorney's office to plead guilty to all charges?

Press Censorship--it ain't just happening courtesy of the San Bernardino County Sun, Daily Press and Desert Dispatch!!

A great article on why we need something OTHER than our current print and studio TV/cable TV media. Check out what we were not told or if told, grossly under-reported!!!; For example, in a recent piece in the San Bernardino Sun and Desert Dispatch, it was curiously omitted that Nursery Products, LLC (who wants to dump sludge on a patch of private land in the middle of public lands to ostensibly create a type of compost for which there is no market)had been slapped with a cease and desist order by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management AFTER a recent Superior Court CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) hearing for illegally tearing up public lands. All the articles "covered" (two different papers, two different ownerships) was that the local court had clear ahurdle for Nursery Products, ignoring the bigger problem; sad but ongoing local example of trying to advocate for a dumper!
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http://www.wanttoknow.info/mass_media/censored/press_censorship_11

COURT BUDGETS BEING CUT AGAIN......

The Courts have been requested to cut another 10% from their budget. In Los Angeles County nine criminal courtrooms in the CCB are due to be closed in '12. So much for Fast Track & Speedy Trial. . .

Suspending habeas corpus and enacting martial law?

Under NDAA Section 1031, permits American citizen imprisonment without evidence or trial. The bill that passed Congress absolutely DOES NOT exempt citizens. The text of Section 1031 reads, "A covered person under this section" includes "any person who has committed a belligerent act". We only have to be ACCUSED, because we don't get a trial.
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An interesting article that may be worth a read on the subject: Journal Inquirer Archives Chris Powell Suspend habeas corpus and enact martial law?
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An interesting video on the same subject: Obama Watch Obama strips language shielding Americans from bill
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4 Retired Four Star USMC Generals say the bill is a bad idea [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/opinion/guantanamo-forever.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper]
Why??
(1)The bill would authorize the military to indefinitely detain without charge people suspected of involvement with terrorism, including United States citizens apprehended on American soil. Current law allows the military to detain people caught on the battlefield, but this provision would extend the battlefield to include US soil.
(2) The bill would require military custody for most terrorism suspects. It would force on our military responsibilities they did not seek. With such a move, why would we need the F.B.I. and local law enforcement efforts in domestic counter terrorism, which gives incentives for suspects to cooperate (e.g. better sentencing terms);
(3) Mandatory military custody may eliminate the role of federal courts in terrorism cases, where the convictions have been higher. In federal courts over 400 have been convicted. By using untested military commissions, only 6 people were convicted on terror-related charges;
(4) The bill would further extend a ban on transfers from Guantánamo, ensuring that this morally and financially expensive symbol of detainee abuse will remain open well into the future, which can only bolster Al Qaeda’s recruiting efforts.
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Blogger Bob's comment: After all these years, why is this now getting traction? It passed the Senate 93-7 !! Is there a threat level are we not being told about ?? Or is this a power grab to create power to punish peaceful opposition. You'd think there would be an effort to allay that concern, yet there seems to be no such effort--could it be precisely what the civil libertarians are saying it is (going to be used for)?

JAIL TIME FOR NOT PAYING BILLS..How it can happen.....

....NPR features a news piece that shows how aggressive collectors have become using assignment practices, questionable service and notice procedures [See: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/12/143274773/unpaid-bills-land-some-debtors-behind-bars].
....Although debtors' prisons are illegal across the country, a Wall Street Journal study found that more than a third of all states in the U.S. allow borrowers who can't or won't pay to be jailed — including those states where debtors' prisons are explicitly prohibited by state constitutions.
....A report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that people were imprisoned even when the cost of doing so exceeded the sum total of the debt they owed. In the city of New Orleans, for example, the sheriff pays $22.39 per day for each detainee held in the Orleans Parish Prison. Sean Matthews, a homeless construction worker, was incarcerated for five months for $498 of legal debt in 2009. Matthews' jail time cost the city $3,201.77 — more than six times the amount he owed -- I guess that is one way to justify building or buying more jail space!
....I have personally seen assignments of debt that can't be proven, gutter service and sham prove-up proceedings--which require between first appearance and motion fees and minimum attorney fee time, between $1,500 and $2,000, with little or no recourse except to try and vacate the judgment and set the case, if successful for trial, which involves further time and expense.