Orin Kerr writes:
Last week, a district court considered whether the federal computer hacking statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, applies to a laptop computer not connected to the Internet. The court concluded in Pine Environmental Services v. Carson (D.Mass. August 20, 2014) (Talwani, J.), that the Act does not apply in such circumstances because the alleged crime is not interstate in nature. As much as I favor narrow readings of the CFAA, I think the court was incorrect. Unfortunately, the CFAA is so broad it includes pretty much every computer, connected to the Internet or not. In this post I’ll explain why.
Read more on WaPo The Volokh Conspiracy.