In general

Computer law is not a specialty comparable to any other area of legal practice. Computer law is the result of the application of substantive law principles in legal actions involving computer-related facts. Aside from copyright and patent issues, most computer cases apply principles of state law—for example, cases involving contract disputes, trade secret protection of warranties.FN1

The first federal computer crime bill was passed in 1984.FN2 Prior to that many bills were propounded but none were adopted. One such unsuccessful bill, the Federal Computer Systems Protection Act, provided the model for the vast majority of subsequent state computer crime laws. Many of the problems in prosecution of specific computer crime laws also appear in computer crime prosecutions pursuant to theft, malicious mischief, and other state and federal laws.

This article deals with the defense of a computer crime prosecution pursuant to a federal or state computer crime law. This article focuses primarily on court proceedings related to computer crime prosecutions, as well as the attorney-client relationship, fees, bail, preparation for trial, investigation, sentencing, and collateral consequences of the conviction of computer crime. Appeal and civil liability resulting from the commission of a computer crime are not within the scope of this article.