People of the State of New York v. Raphael Golb

STATUS: Trial commenced Sept 14, 2010

N.Y. Sup.: Dead Sea Scrolls Debate Spurs NY Criminal Trial

Associated Press
Attorney, Raphael Golb, went on trial Tuesday on criminal charges of online impersonation and harassment for creating false emails and blog posts in a hoax to champion his professor father's views and discredit NYU professor Lawrence Schiffman's views in a debate over the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls. While impersonation claims have generated civil lawsuits, prosecutions are few unless phony identities are used to steal money, experts say. Golb, 50, has pleaded not guilty to identity theft, criminal impersonation and other charges. He hasn't acknowledged crafting the messages, but his lawyers say the plagiarism allegations are true, and the writings amount to typical blogosphere banter — not crime.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100914/ap_on_re_us/us_dead_sea_scrolls_3" target="_blank


--Grand Jury Indictment
http://www.bobcargill.com/Gadda/grand_jury_indictment_golb.pdf" target="_blank
--Other Legal Filings
http://www.bobcargill.com/who-is-charles-gadda.html#Legal_Filings" target="_blank


UPDATE (11/18/10)
STATUS: Golb sentenced six months imprisonment on Nov. 18, 2010

N.Y. Sup.: Raphael Golb Gets Six Months in Prison for Impersonating Dead Sea Scrolls Scholar

New York Daily News

A judge Thursday sentenced Raphael Golb to six months behind bars - for his stealing his victims' e-mail identities and trashing them.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/11/18/2010-11-18_raphael_golb_gets_six_months_in_prison_for_impersonating_dead_sea_scrolls_schola.html#ixzz162AB2Xja

State of Nebraska v. Drahota

STATUS: Reversed and Dismissed on 9/24/2010

Neb.: Fiery Political Emails Didn't Disturb the Peace

Courthouse News Service
The First Amendment protects a Nebraska man's right to send fiery emails accusing his former political science professor, then a state legislative candidate, of being an al-Qaida sympathizer, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled, overturning the former pupil's conviction for disturbing the peace.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/09/27/30603.htm

Links:
Decision: State v. Drahota, 280 Neb. 627 (2010): http://www.supremecourt.ne.gov/opinions/2010/september/sept24/s08-628.pdf

See also:
Angry Emails From Student To Professor Protected As Free Speech
TechDirt
Nebraska Supreme Court has overturned the lower court ruling and has said that the emails had First Amendment protections. The court has an interesting discussion of what constitutes "fighting words," and it's pretty clear these emails did not qualify for the kind of "fighting words" that get past First Amendment considerations.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100925/01210711162/angry-emails-from-student-to-professor-protected-as-free-speech.shtml

Juzwiak v. Doe

N.J. Super. App. Div.: Recipient of Offensive E-Mails Can't Force Yahoo to Name Sender

New Jersey Law Journal

The ruling ... instructs how e-mails fit into the contours of the decade-old precedent that allowed for unmasking anonymous posters of injurious comments on the Web if certain tests are met.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202464260189&Recipient_of_Offensive_EMails_Cant_Force_Yahoo_to_Name_Sender

-- Decision: Juzwiak v. Doe: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nj/Juzwiak-a2302-09.pdf