Trial of Accused Palin Email Hacker Stayed Until May 2009

The trial of twenty-year old David Kernell, the accused Palin Yahoo email hacker, has been moved to May of 2009 according to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's office in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Pre-trial litigation for the University of Tennessee student, who is also the son of Tennessee Democratic Congressman Mike Kernell, is scheduled to commence March 9, 2009. The case revolves around a breach of the then vice-presidential candidate's personal Yahoo email account, which resulted in a hailstorm of media attention aside from that garnered by the elections themselves. Investigators traced the alleged IP address used in the hack of Palin's email account to the student's college residence in Tennessee.

Computer and other internet crimes are a serious offense, which involve federal charges per the several federal laws. In this specific instance, Kernell is being charged with obtaining information from a protected computer using interstate communication methods and illegal access to stored communications information. If convicted on both these charges, Kernell potentially faces five years in federal prison, as well as fines in excess of $250,000. These charges, though misdemeanors themselves, are bumped up to felony counts when combined with other illegal acts or charges. For any individual facing arrest for computer or internet related crimes in Tennessee, contact Hindman Law and Associates for expert legal counsel today.