Alexandra Jones reports:
The Supreme Court unanimously shot down the government’s broad reading of identity theft law Thursday in a decision that will shorten the prison sentence of an Austin psychologist who defrauded Medicaid.
“While the Government represents that prosecutors will act responsibly in charging defendants under its sweeping reading, this Court ‘cannot construe a criminal statute on the assumption that the Government will ‘use it responsibly,’’” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the court in the 21-page ruling.
Read more at Courthouse News.
So I hope some criminal defense attorneys blog about this decision and explain its implications for all the federal prosecutions of hackers where we often see aggravated identity theft charges tacked on, with mandatory two-year sentences to be served *consecutively* after other sentences.
And what will happen to all those defendants previously convicted and serving those sentences? Will this ruling make any difference or become grounds for a lot of appeals?