United States v. Andrew Auernheimer

OPINION

CHAGARES, Circuit Judge.

This case calls upon us to determine whether venue for Andrew Auernheimer’s prosecution for conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, and identity fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(7) was proper in the District of New Jersey. Venue in criminal cases is more than a technicality; it involves “matters that touch closely the fair administration of criminal justice and public confidence in it.” United States v. Johnson, 323 U.S. 273, 276, 65 S.Ct. 249, 89 L.Ed. 236 (1944). This is especially true of computer crimes in the era of…