United States v. John Larkin Trotter

John Larkin Trotter was charged with intentionally causing damage to a protected computer without authorization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(5)(A)®. Trotter pleaded guilty, reserving the right to challenge the constitutionality of § 1030(a)(5)(A)® as applied. The district court 1 sentenced Trotter to eighteen months’ imprisonment and ordered Trotter to pay approximately $19,000 in restitution. On appeal, Trotter argues § 1030(a)(5)(A)® is unconstitutional as applied to his conduct: an attack on a not-for-profit organization’s computer network that was connected to the Internet and…