United States v. Rodriguez - 628 F.3d 1258 (11th Cir. 2010)

Rule:

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act makes it a crime to intentionally access a computer without authorization or exceed authorized access, and thereby obtain information from any department or agency of the United States. 18 U.S.C.S. § 1030(a)(2)(B). The Act defines the phrase "exceeds authorized access" as to access a computer with authorization and to use such access to obtain or alter information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled to obtain or alter. 18 U.S.C.S. § 1030(e)(6).

Facts:

Roberto Rodriguez, a former employee of the Social Security Administration, appealed his conviction for violating the Act on the grounds that he did not exceed his authorized access to his former employer's databases and that he did not use the information to further another crime or to gain financially. The Administration prohibited accessing information on its databases for nonbusiness reasons, and Rodriguez at trial admitted that he accessed information for nonbusiness reasons when he obtained personal identifying information, such as birth dates and home addresses, of 17 persons he knew or their relatives. Rodriguez also appealed his sentence of 12 months of imprisonment on the ground that it is unreasonable.

Issue:

Did Rodriguez violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which prohibits intentionally accessing a computer without authorization or exceeding authorized access, and thereby obtaining information from any department or agency of the United States?

Answer:

Yes.

Conclusion:

The court summarily upheld the conviction and sentence. Rodriguez conceded that his access of the victims' personal information was not in furtherance of his job duties and that he accessed information that was unauthorized. The plain language of the CFAA foreclosed Rodriguez’ arguments challenging the conviction. The court also found that the sentence was substantively and procedurally reasonable, noting that the district court properly considered the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual range and the 18 U.S.C.S. § 3553(a) factors and that the sentence was within the range of reasonable sentences.