3 Comments

I can understand Judge Posner’s opinion given that the laptop was company property and the use of a secure deletion program is the kind of use that can reasonably be considered damage to company property. It physically changes the hard drive in a manner that is way beyond normal use of a company machine for work purposes. Still most companies would not give administrative access to employees such that they could install (or write) such a program for use on their machines.

I think the important question this opinion should prompt is whether poorly written legislation should be reformed by the courts to comply with what some judge might think is the real intent, or whether the courts should interpret the law–whenever possible–based on statutory language, and give the legislature the opportunity to clarify its meaning. I don’t think anyone expected an anti-hacking statute to be applied in this manner, but I applaud Judge Posner for not attempting to make new law. Legislation, being the product of compromise, is all too often sloppily drafted, but it is not the province of the judiciary to change the plain language. Once we decide it is permissible for the courts to second guess clear statutory language, a lot of legislation can become meaningless in a hurry.

“It physically changes the hard drive in a manner that is way beyond normal use of a company machine for work purposes.”

Now that is amazing! Sorry but the only physical alteration to a hard drive would be by the use of a hammer or other such like device.

There is so much we really don’t know about the case specifics. Most real estate folks I know sorta collect their own leads and such. Even if they are using a company provided computer, many times the database they create is at least in part if not totally theirs.

Of course the gentelmans job definations could have been different. Such is not known.

He chose to self terminate his position with the company and basically took his work with him. Of course such decision also prevented the company from having it’s property returned or secured by the company at the moment of termination.

There is much more than file deletion going on here. Many smart computer users have learned to use nothing but washer programs for all file deletions, no matter how trivial the file may be.

In short, on the surface I can’t see fraud, and expecially not hacking. “his appointment in 1981 as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit” Maybe it’s time warp decision.

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