UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
No. 99-10518
Plaintiff-Appellee,
D.C. No.
v.
CR-98-00167-WHO
NICHOLAS MIDDLETON,
OPINION
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
William H. Orrick, Jr., District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted
September 12, 2000--San Francisco, California
Filed November 16, 2000
Before: Susan P. Graber, Raymond C. Fisher, and
Marsha S. Berzon, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by Judge Graber
_________________________________________________________________
COUNSEL
David J. Cohen, Cohen & Paik, San Francisco, California, for
the defendant-appellant.
J. Douglas Wilson, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief,
Appellate Section, San Francisco, California, for the plaintiff-
appellee.
_________________________________________________________________
OPINION
GRABER, Circuit Judge:
Defendant Nicholas Middleton challenges his conviction
for intentionally causing damage to a "protected computer"
without authorization, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
S 1030(a)(5)(A). Defendant asks us to interpret the statute,
which prohibits conduct causing damage to "one or more
individuals," 18 U.S.C. S 1030(e)(8)(A), to exclude damage
to a corporation. Defendant also argues that the trial court
incorrectly instructed the jury on the "damage " element of the
offense and that the government presented insufficient evi-
14719
dence of the requisite amount of damage. We disagree with
each of Defendant's contentions and, therefore, affirm the
conviction.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1
Defendant worked as the personal computer administrator
for Slip.net, an Internet service provider. His responsibilities
included installing software and hardware on the company's
computers and providing technical support to its employees.
He had extensive knowledge of Slip.net's internal systems,
including employee and computer program passwords. Dis-
satisfied with his job, Defendant quit. He then began to write
threatening e-mails to his former employer.
Slip.net had allowed Defendant to retain an e-mail account
as a paying customer after he left the company's employ.
Defendant used this account to commit his first unauthorized
act. After logging in to Slip.net's system, Defendant used a
computer program called "Switch User" to switch his account
to that of a Slip.net receptionist, Valerie Wilson. This subter-
fuge allowed Defendant to take advantage of the benefits and
privileges associated with that employee's account, such as
creating and deleting accounts and adding features to existing
accounts.
Ted Glenwright, Slip.net's president, discovered this unau-
thorized action while looking through a "Switch User log,"
which records all attempts to use the Switch User program.
Glenwright cross-checked the information with the compa-
ny's "Radius Log," which records an outside user's attempt
to dial in to the company's modem banks. The information
established that Defendant had connected to Slip.net.'s com-
puters and had then switched to Wilson's account. Glenwright
immediately terminated Defendant's e-mail account.
_________________________________________________________________
1 Because a jury convicted Defendant, we view the evidence in the light
most favorable to the government. United States v. Cuevas, 847 F.2d
1417, 1421 (9th Cir. 1988).
14720
Nevertheless, Defendant was able to continue his activities.
Three days later, he obtained access to Slip.net's computers
by logging in to a computer that contained a test account and
then using that test account to gain access to the company's
main computers. Once in Slip.net's main system, Defendant
accessed the account of a sales representative and created two
new accounts, which he called "TERPID" and "SANTOS."
Defendant used TERPID and SANTOS to obtain access to a
different computer that the company had named "Lemming."
Slip.net used Lemming to perform internal administrative
functions and to host customers' websites. Lemming also con-
tained the software for a new billing system. After gaining
access to the Lemming computer, Defendant changed all the
administrative passwords, altered the computer's registry,
deleted the entire billing system (including programs that ran
the billing software), and deleted two internal databases.
Glenwright discovered the damage the next morning. He
immediately contacted the company's system administrator,
Bruno Connelly. Glenwright and Connelly spent an entire
weekend repairing the damage that Defendant had caused to
Slip.net's computers, including restoring access to the com-
puter system, assigning new passwords, reloading the billing
software, and recreating the deleted databases. They also
spent many hours investigating the source and the extent of
the damage. Glenwright estimated that he spent 93 hours
repairing the damage; Connelly estimated that he spent 28
hours; and other employees estimated that they spent a total
of 33 hours. Additionally, Slip.net bought new software to
replace software that Defendant had deleted, and the company
hired an outside consultant for technical support.
Defendant was arrested and charged with a violation of 18
U.S.C. S 1030(a)(5)(A). He moved to dismiss the indictment,
arguing that Slip.net was not an "individual" within the mean-
ing of the statute. The district court denied the motion, hold-
ing that "the statute encompasses damage sustained by a
14721
business entity as well as by a natural person." United States
v. Middleton, 35 F. Supp. 2d 1189, 1192 (N.D. Cal. 1999).
The case was then tried to a jury. Defendant filed motions
for acquittal, arguing that the government had failed to prove
that Slip.net suffered at least $5,000 in damage. The district
court denied the motions. Defendant requested a jury instruc-
tion on the meaning of "damage." This request, too, was
denied, and the court gave a different instruction.
The jury convicted Defendant. The district court sentenced
him to three years' probation, subject to the condition that he
serve 180 days in community confinement. The court also
ordered Defendant to pay $9,147 in restitution. This timely
appeal ensued.
STANDARDS OF REVIEW
We review de novo the district court's interpretation of a
statute. United States v. Frega, 179 F.3d 793, 802 n.6 (9th
Cir. 1999). We also review de novo whether a jury instruction
misstates the elements of a statutory crime. Id. at 806 n.16.
We review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence by
examining the evidence in the light most favorable to the
prosecution and determining whether any rational trier of fact
could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond
a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319
(1979).
DISCUSSION
A. "One or More Individuals"
Title 18 U.S.C. S 1030(a)(5)(A) prohibits a person from
knowingly transmitting "a program, information, code, or
command, and as a result of such conduct, intentionally caus-
[ing] damage without authorization, to a protected computer."
A "protected computer" is a computer "which is used in inter-
14722
state or foreign commerce or communication." 18 U.S.C.
S 1030(e)(2)(B). Defendant concedes that Slip.net's comput-
ers fit within that definition. The statute defines "damage" to
mean "any impairment to the integrity or availability of data,
a program, a system, or information, that causes loss aggre-
gating at least $5,000 in value during any 1-year period to one
or more individuals." 18 U.S.C. S 1030(e)(8)(A). Defendant
argues that Congress intended the phrase "one or more indi-
viduals" to exclude corporations. We disagree.
"In interpreting a statute, we look first to the plain language
of the statute, construing the provisions of the entire law,
including its object and policy, to ascertain the intent of Con-
gress." United States v. Mohrbacher, 182 F.3d 1041, 1048
(9th Cir. 1999) (citation and internal quotation marks omit-
ted). When a statutory term is undefined, we endeavor to give
that term its ordinary meaning. Id. We are instructed to avoid,
if possible, an interpretation that would produce "an absurd
and unjust result which Congress could not have intended."
Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417, 429 (1998).
According to Defendant, in common usage the term "indi-
viduals" excludes corporations. He notes that the "Dictionary
Act," 1 U.S.C. S 1, which provides general rules of statutory
construction, defines the word "person" to include "corpora-
tions, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies,
and joint stock companies, as well as individuals. " That defi-
nition, argues Defendant, implies that the word "person"
includes "corporations," but that the word "individuals" does
not. Defendant reasons that, if Congress had intended
S 1030(a)(5)(A) to cover damage to corporations, Congress
would have used the word "persons," not "individuals." For
several reasons, we are not persuaded.
[1] We examine first the ordinary meaning of "individu-
als." That word does not necessarily exclude corporations.
Webster's Third New Int'l Dictionary 1152 (unabridged ed.
1993) provides five definitions of the noun "individual," the
14723
first being "a single or particular being or thing or group of
beings or things." (Emphasis added.) To the extent that a
word's dictionary meaning equates to its "plain meaning," a
corporation can be referred to as an "individual. " Cf. United
States v. Miguel, 111 F.3d 666, 670 (9th Cir. 1997) (using a
dictionary to define "contemporaneous").
[2] Neither is "individual" a legal term of art that applies
only to natural persons. As Black's Law Dictionary 773 (6th
ed. 1990) states:
Individual. As a noun, this term denotes a single
person as distinguished from a group or class, and
also, very commonly, a private or natural person as
distinguished from a partnership, corporation, or
association; but it is said that this restrictive signifi-
cation is not necessarily inherent in the word, and
that it may, in proper cases, include artificial per-
sons.
(Emphasis added.) See also Black's Law Dictionary 777 (7th
ed. 1999) (stating that "individual" refers to "an indivisible
entity" or a "single person or thing"). Because "individual" as
a general legal term does not exclude corporations, we next
consider applicable precedent.
In Clinton, the Supreme Court held that Congress intended
to include corporations within a provision of the Line Item
Veto Act that authorized "any individual adversely affected"
to challenge the Act's constitutionality. 524 U.S. at 428
(emphasis added). The Court examined the purpose of the
provision (to allow expedited judicial review of the Line Item
Veto Act) and determined that Congress could not have
intended that only natural persons be able to demand expe-
dited review. Id. at 429. That interpretation, noted the Court,
would produce an "absurd and unjust result which Congress
could not have intended." Id.
14724
[3] So, too, here. Defendant was convicted of violating
S 1030(a)(5)(A), which criminalizes damage to "protected
computers." A "protected computer" is a computer that is
"used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication."
18 U.S.C. S 1030(e)(2)(B). A large number of the computers
that are used in interstate or foreign commerce or communica-
tion are owned by corporations. Cf. S. Rep. No. 104-357, pt.
II (1996) (noting that "computers continue to proliferate in
businesses and homes"). It is highly unlikely, in view of Con-
gress' purpose to stop damage to computers used in interstate
and foreign commerce and communication, that Congress
intended to criminalize damage to such computers only if the
damage is to a natural person. Defendant's interpretation
would thwart Congress' intent.
[4] Defendant's interpretation also ignores the context in
which the term "individual" appears. It is true that the Dictio-
nary Act's definition of "person" implies that the words "cor-
porations" and "individuals" refer to different things. But the
Dictionary Act instructs us not to use its definitions if "the
context indicates otherwise." 1 U.S.C. S 1. Context refers to
"the text of the Act of Congress surrounding the word at
issue, or the texts of other related congressional Acts." Row-
land v. California Men's Colony, 506 U.S. 194, 199 (1993);
see id. at 198-200 (interpreting the word "person," as used in
28 U.S.C. S 1915, to mean natural persons only). An exami-
nation of 18 U.S.C. S 1030 in its entirety uncovers further evi-
dence that Congress did not, as Defendant argues, intend to
use the word "individuals" to mean natural persons only, and
the word "person" to mean natural persons and corporations.
[5] As noted, 18 U.S.C. S 1030(e)(8)(A) defines "damage"
to mean "any impairment to the integrity or availability of
data, a program, a system, or information that causes loss
aggregating at least $5,000 . . . to one or more individuals."
Section 1030(e)(8)(C) provides an alternative definition of
damage: any impairment to a system "that causes physical
injury to any person." Under Defendant's theory, corporations
14725
could suffer "damage" as defined in S 1030(e)(8)(C), because
a corporation is a "person." Corporations, however, cannot
suffer "physical injury." See Black's Law Dictionary 1147
(defining "physical injury" as "[b]odily harm or hurt"). If
Congress had meant to incorporate the Dictionary Act's defi-
nition of "person" (and, by extension, Defendant's definition
of "individual"), S 1030(e)(8)(C) should read, "that causes
physical injury to any individual." But it does not. In context,
it appears that Congress used "individuals" and "person" in a
non-technical manner, without reference to the Dictionary
Act.
Defendant also relies on the statute's legislative history.
We have examined that history, but conclude that the statute's
history confirms our reading of the word "individuals." Con-
gress originally enacted the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
in 1984. Pub. L. No. 98-473, tit. II, S 2102(a), Oct. 12, 1984.
The 1990 version of S 1030(a)(5)(A) prohibited conduct that
damages a "Federal interest computer" and "causes loss to
one or more others of a value aggregating $1,000 or more."
A "Federal interest computer" was defined as a computer
owned or used by the United States Government or a financial
institution, or "one of two or more computers used in commit-
ting the offense, not all of which are located in the same
State." 18 U.S.C. S 1030(e)(2)(A) & (B) (1990). In 1994,
Congress replaced the term "Federal interest computer" with
the phrase "computer used in interstate commerce or commu-
nication" and changed the damage provision to read, "causes
loss or damage to one or more other persons of value aggre-
gating $1,000 or more." 18 U.S.C. S 1030(a)(5)(A)(ii)(II)(aa)
(1995). Before the 1994 amendment, a hacker could escape
the statute's prohibitions by containing activities within a sin-
gle state. Congress' 1994 amendment attempted to "broaden
the statute's reach." S. Rep. No. 104-357, pt. IV(E) (discuss-
ing 1994 amendment). Congress' 1994 amendments also
added a private cause of action for victims of computer crime.
18 U.S.C. S 1030(g).
14726
In 1996, Congress amended S 1030(a)(5) to its current
form, using the term "protected computer" and concomitantly
expanding the number of computers that the statute "protect-
ed." 18 U.S.C. S 1030(a)(5) & (e)(2).2 The 1996 amendments
also altered the definition of damage to read, "loss aggregat-
ing at least $5,000 in value during any 1-year period to one
or more individuals." 18 U.S.C. S 1030(e)(8)(A). We have
found no explanation for this change. We do not believe,
however, that this change evidences an intent to limit the stat-
ute's reach.
To the contrary, Congress has consciously broadened the
statute consistently since its original enactment. The Senate
Report on the 1996 amendments notes:
As intended when the law was originally enacted,
the Computer Fraud and Abuse statute facilitates
addressing in a single statute the problem of com-
puter crime . . . . As computers continue to prolifer-
ate in businesses and homes, and new forms of
computer crimes emerge, Congress must remain vig-
ilant to ensure that the Computer Fraud and Abuse
statute is up-to-date and provides law enforcement
with the necessary legal framework to fight com-
puter crime.
_________________________________________________________________
2 The 1996 amendments corrected deficiencies in the 1990 version of the
statute and the 1994 version. In 1994, when Congress substituted the
phrase "computer used in interstate commerce or communication" for
"Federal interest computer," it inadvertently removed protection from
those computers belonging to or used by the United States Government or
a financial institution, but not used in interstate commerce. See S. Rep.
No. 104-357. The 1996 amendments included within the definition of
"protected computer" those computers used in interstate commerce or
communication, as well as computers "exclusively for the use of a finan-
cial institution or the United States Government, or. . . used by or for a
financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct con-
stituting the offense affects the use." 18 U.S.C.S 1030(e)(2)(A).
14727
S. Rep. No. 104-357, pt. II (emphasis added). The report
instructs that "the definition of `damage' is amended to be
sufficiently broad to encompass the types of harm against
which people should be protected." Id. pt. IV(1)(E). The
report notes that the interaction between S 1030(a)(5)(A) (the
provision that prohibits conduct causing damage) and
S 1030(e)(8) (the provision that defines damage) will prohibit
a hacker from stealing passwords from an existing log-on pro-
gram, when this conduct requires "all system users to change
their passwords, and requires the system administrator to
devote resources to resecuring the system. . . . If the loss to
the victim meets the required monetary threshold, the conduct
should be criminal, and the victim should be entitled to
relief." Id. (emphasis added). The reference to a "system
administrator" suggests that a corporate victim is involved.
That is, if Congress intended to limit the definition of the
crime to conduct causing financial damage to a natural person
only, its report would not use the example of a "system
administrator" devoting resources to fix a computer problem
as illustrative of the "damage" to be prevented and criminal-
ized. The Senate Report's reference to the proliferation of
computers in businesses as well as homes provides additional
evidence of the Senate's intent to extend the statute's protec-
tions to corporate entities.
[6] On the basis of the statutory text taken in context, the
Supreme Court's Clinton decision, and the statute's purpose
and legislative history, we conclude that 18 U.S.C.
S 1030(a)(5) criminalizes computer crime that damages natu-
ral persons and corporations alike. The district court did not
err in so ruling.
B. Jury Instructions on "Damage"
Defendant next argues that the district court instructed the
jury improperly on the definition of "damage. " Defendant
requested this instruction: "Damage does not include
expenses relating to creating a better or making a more secure
14728
system than the one in existence prior to the impairment." The
court refused the request and gave a different instruction. The
court explained to the jury that "damage" is an impairment to
Slip.net's computer system that caused a loss of at least
$5,000. The court continued:
The term "loss" means any monetary loss that
Slip.net sustained as a result of any damage to
Slip.net's computer data, program, system or infor-
mation that you find occurred.
And in considering whether the damage caused a
loss less than or greater than $5,000, you may con-
sider any loss that you find was a natural and fore-
seeable result of any damage that you find occurred.
In determining the amount of losses, you may con-
sider what measures were reasonably necessary to
restore the data, program, system, or information that
you find was damaged or what measures were rea-
sonably necessary to resecure the data, program, sys-
tem, or information from further damage.
"In reviewing jury instructions, the relevant inquiry is
whether the instructions as a whole are misleading or inade-
quate to guide the jury's deliberation." United States v. Dixon,
201 F.3d 1223, 1230 (9th Cir. 2000). In this case, the district
court's instructions on "damage" and "loss " correctly stated
the applicable law. Defendant concedes that "damage"
includes any loss that was a foreseeable consequence of his
criminal conduct, including those costs necessary to "rese-
cure" Slip.net's computers. He does not argue, therefore, that
the court misstated the law.
Defendant contends instead that the court's instruction
might have led the jury to believe that it could consider the
cost of creating a better or more secure system and that his
proposed additional instruction was needed to avoid that pos-
14729
sibility. The district court's instruction, when read in its
entirety, adequately presented Defendant's theory. The court
instructed the jury that it could consider only those costs that
were a "natural and foreseeable result" of Defendant's con-
duct, only those costs that were "reasonably necessary," and
only those costs that would "resecure" the computer to avoid
"further damage." That instruction logically excludes any
costs that the jury believed were excessive, as well as any
costs that would merely create an improved computer system
unrelated to preventing further damage resulting from Defen-
dant's conduct. In particular, the term "resecure " implies
making the system as secure as it was before, not making it
more secure than it was before. We presume that the jury fol-
lowed the court's instructions. United States v. Montgomery,
150 F.3d 983, 997 (9th Cir. 1998).
Because "the district court's instructions fairly and ade-
quately covered the elements of the offense, we review the
instruction's `precise formulation' for an abuse of discretion."
United States v. Knapp, 120 F.3d 928, 930 (9th Cir. 1997).
The district court in this case did not abuse its discretion in
rejecting Defendant's "precise formulation" of the definition
of "damage." See United States v. Smith , 217 F.3d 746, 750
(9th Cir. 2000) (stating that "it is not required that a jury be
instructed in line with the chosen words of the accused").
C. Sufficiency of the Evidence
Defendant's final argument is that the government
presented insufficient evidence of the requisite $5,000 in
damage. The government computed the amount of damage
that occurred by multiplying the number of hours that each
employee spent in fixing the computer problems by their
respective hourly rates (calculated using their annual salaries),
then adding the cost of the consultant and the new software.
The government estimated the total amount of damage to be
$10,092. Defendant and the government agree that the cost of
Glenwright's time made up the bulk of that total.
14730
Defendant observes that Slip.net paid Glenwright a fixed
salary and that Slip.net did not pay Glenwright anything extra
to fix the problems caused by Defendant's conduct. There
also is no evidence, says Defendant, that Glenwright was
diverted from his other responsibilities or that such a diver-
sion caused Slip.net a financial loss. Defendant argues that,
unless Slip.net paid its salaried employees an extra $5,000 for
the time spent fixing the computer system, or unless the com-
pany was prevented from making $5,000 that it otherwise
would have made because of the employees' diversion,
Slip.net has not suffered "damage" as defined in the statute.
We disagree.
In United States v. Sablan, 92 F.3d 865, 869 (9th Cir.
1996), this court held that, under the Sentencing Guidelines
for computer fraud, it was permissible for the district court to
compute "loss" based on the hourly wage of the victim bank's
employees. The court reasoned, in part, that the bank would
have had to pay a similar amount had it hired an outside con-
tractor to repair the damage. Id. at 870. Analogous reasoning
applies here. There is no basis to believe that Congress
intended the element of "damage" to depend on a victim's
choice whether to use hourly employees, outside contractors,
or salaried employees to repair the same level of harm to a
protected computer. Rather, whether the amount of time spent
by the employees and their imputed hourly rates were reason-
able for the repair tasks that they performed are questions to
be answered by the trier of fact.
Our review of the record identifies sufficient evidence from
which a rational trier of fact could have found that Slip.net
suffered $5,000 or more in damage. Glenwright testified that
he spent approximately 93 hours investigating and repairing
the damage caused by Defendant. That total included 24 hours
investigating the break-in, determining how to fix it, and tak-
ing temporary measures to prevent future break-ins. Glen-
wright testified that he spent 21 hours recreating deleted
databases and 16 hours reloading and configuring the billing
14731
software and its related applications. Glenwright estimated
that his time was worth $90 per hour, based on his salary of
$180,000 per year. He also testified, among other things, that
he did not hire an outside contractor to repair the damage
because he believed that he, as a computer expert with a pre-
existing knowledge of the customized features of his compa-
ny's computers, could fix the problems more efficiently. It is
worth noting that, because the jury had to find only $5,000
worth of damage, it could have discounted Glenwright's num-
ber of hours or his hourly rate considerably and still have
found the requisite amount of damage.
Other Slip.net employees testified to the hours that they
spent fixing the damage caused by Defendant, and to their
respective salaries. The government then presented expert tes-
timony from which a jury could determine that the time spent
by the employees was reasonable. Defendant cross-examined
the government's witnesses on these issues vigorously, and he
presented contrary expert testimony. By the verdict, the jury
found the government witnesses' testimony to be more credi-
ble, a finding that was within its power to make. We hold, on
this record, that the conviction was not based on insufficient
evidence.
AFFIRMED.
14732