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CA8: Cell phone is "computer" for U.S. S.G. purposes.

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The Eighth Circuit holds that a cell phone is a “computer” for U.S. Sentencing Guidelines enhancement purposes, adopting the district court's findings and the government's argument. United States v. Kramer, 10-1983 (8th Cir. February 8, 2011): We acknowledge that a “basic” cellular phone might not easily fit within the colloquial definition of “computer.” We are bound, however, not by the common understanding of that word, but by the specific — if broad — definition set forth in § 1030(e)(1). Now it may be that neither the Sentencing Commission nor Congress anticipated that a cellular phone would be included in that definition. As technology continues to develop, § 1030(e)(1) may come to capture still additional devices that few industry experts, much less the Commission or Congress, could foresee...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 08, 2011 (boomark / email).