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The Misery of Mitra: Considering Criminal Punishment for Computer Crimes

Introduction Rajib Mitra always had an interest in computers; his mother introduced him to amateur radios when he was a child and he lived a stereotypical techno-geek lifestyle: an ex-girlfriend described as being just as interested in computers as her, and another girlfriend he met online.2 His undergraduate major was computer science and his two years of work after college were in software engineering.3 Mitra received a B.S. in computer science from the University of Wisconsin in 2000; he also already had a history of two prior convictions of malicious activity with computers. In 2003, Mitra was now pursuing an MBA at the University’s graduate business school in Madison, Wisconsin.4 The city uses Smartnet II, a computer-based radio system that coordinates communication between the police, fire and other public safety and emergency agencies for the city. The system creates “talk groups” which allows for coordination between any users of the system. Utilizing twenty channels, the system makes effective use of the full radio spectrum. Between January and August of 2003, the system was rendered unusable with blackouts of availability. These events were occasional and spread out. 5 The City was able to eventually locate the source of a signal that was causing the blackout. The culprit was Mitra.6 Mitra was charged under the recently revised Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C.A. § 1030. Showing no remorse, he appealed and spoke before an appellate panel including Judge Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit. He claimed he had done nothing wrong and that the eight-year sentence imposed on him was not fair.7 Was the misery that Mitra was experiencing “fair”? The changes made to the Act that Mitra was charged under were made after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act of 20018 and by the Cyber Security Enhancement Act pf 2002.9 The judges called Mitra a “domestic terrorist,”10 which seemed to reflect the original rationale for the increases in punishment. This paper analyzes the policies and philosophy of punishment for computer crimes under the post-Sept. 11th regime. I argue that the judicial discourse represented in Mitra represents a willingness to use the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to go after