Electronic Privacy Supported by Ninth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals

in a decision against a lawyer who abused federal subpoena power to obtain emails not relevant to the litigation he was involved with according to this CNet article. The lawyer had issued a blanket subpoena to an ISP for all emails to a particular firm under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Appeals Court affirmed his conviction and fine of $9,000 under the Stored Communications Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

This case had nothing to do directly with the Digital Millenium Copyright Act that the RIAA is using in a similar manner but it may be brought into play by defendents fighting subpoenas and suits and those suing RIAA. According to USA Today, the RIAA is set to pounce this Friday on file swappers found through subpoenas. [Dana Baggett]