Computer crimes in New York City and throughout New York State are no longer the crimes of the future, but the crimes of today. New York criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors alike are seeing cybercrimes and computer crimes being perpetrated in new schemes and in more creative manners almost daily. Having said that, while the means by which computer crimes such as Computer Tampering, Computer Trespass, Unauthorized Use of a Computer and Unlawful Duplication of Computer Related Material are perpetrated, statutorily defined defenses have remained the same. To be clear, there are many ways your criminal defense attorney may ascertain the best defense against a criminal allegation, but in the realm of computer crimes there are specific defenses set forth in the New York Penal Law pursuant to section 156.50.
New York Penal Law 156.50(1)
It is a defense to the crimes of Computer Trespass and Unauthorized Use of a Computer if the accused had “reasonable grounds to believe” he or she had permission to use the computer.
New York Penal Law 156.50(2)
It is a defense to any degree of Computer Tampering if the accused had “reasonable grounds to believe” he or she was authorized to alter or destroy the computer program or data. New York Penal Law 156.50(3)
It is a defense to Unlawful Duplication of Computer Related Material if the accused had “reasonable grounds to believe” that he or she had the right to reproduce in any manner the computer program or data.
Although the above defenses seem fairly straight forward, the application of these defense are not as easy. What is a “reasonable person” and did you behave in such a manner? Obviously, these and other defenses are what you and your New York computer crime lawyer will determine after you have thoroughly addressed the allegations, the evidence and other possible defenses.
For extensive information on New York computer crimes, please review the New York Computer Crime information page. Furthermore, in depth information on the crimes of Computer Tampering, Computer Trespass and Unauthorized use of a Computer can be found through the respective links above. In addition to information on these crimes, the New York Criminal Lawyer Blog contains insight into criminal statutes, legal decisions and cases in the New York area news.
The New York criminal defense attorneys at Saland Law PC represent those accused of computer crimes throughout the New York city area. Before starting the law firm, both partners served as prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.