Podcast

The Term: Computer Misuse Is Not A Federal Crime

(June 3, 2021, 6:26 PM EDT) -- A cop who took $5,000 to look up a stripper's license plate information may have broken department protocol and the public trust, but he did not violate federal computer crime law, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said in a decision explored by The Term podcast this week. Plus, a look at a corporate giant's failed bid to escape a $2.1 billion product liability judgment.

Each week on The Term, Supreme Court reporter Jimmy Hoover and co-host Natalie Rodriguez break down all the high court action.

This week, the hosts catch up on the news from this week's orders list, including a copyright case taken up by the court for next term between fabric designer Unicolors Inc. and fast-fashion behemoth H&M. But Jimmy says it was a denial of certiorari that caught court watchers' attention: the court's rejection of Johnson & Johnson's petition appealing a $2.1 billion judgment in favor of cancer survivors who say their condition was a result of using the company's talcum powder products.

Next, Natalie dives into the latest immigration ruling to come out of the Supreme Court, this one scrapping a Ninth Circuit rule requiring courts to accept testimony from asylum applicants as true absent an explicit "adverse credibility determination" from the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Finally, Jimmy breaks down the court's Thursday morning ruling in Van Buren v. U.S. clearing former Georgia police sergeant Nathan Van Buren of violating the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for accepting a $5,000 offer to search the license plate information of a local stripper suspected of being an undercover police officer; in reality, the deal was a sting operation set up by the FBI, which then secured a federal felony conviction against Van Buren under the CFAA. In a 6-3 ruling written by Justice Barrett, the court overturned the conviction.

More information about the show can be found here. You can also subscribe on Apple PodcastsStitcherSpotifyGoogle Play and iHeartRadio. And if you like the show, please leave a written review! It helps others find us more easily.




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