Amicus brief filed to free journalist facing prison sentence

The Digital Media Law Project (DMLP) at Harvard filed an amicus brief in support of the First Amendment in the case of the United States v. Andrew Auernheimer. Auernheimer was indicted for reporting that At&T was posting the e-mail address of iPad customers on the Internet. He copied the exposed e-mails and reported the story to Gawker and others in the media. A federal prosecutor brought felony charges against him for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and identity theft laws. He was sentenced to 41 months in prison. The DMLP is appealing to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn the conviction on the basis of the First Amendment, that Auernheimer was reporting newsworthy information in support of the public good. (DMLP, July 9, 2013, by DMLP Staff)

Documents pertaining to the case can be found on the Electronic Freedom Foundation website.