The Solicitor General obtained a thirty day extension on the July 9, 2012 deadline to file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court on the Ninth Circuit’s controversial U.S. v. Nosal decision, which limits the use of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. According to the extension request, the Solicitor General “has not yet determined whether to file a petition for a writ of certiorari in this case. The additional time sought in this application is needed to assess the legal and practical impact of the court’s ruling and, if a petition is authorized, to permit its preparation and printing.”

A writ petition would challenge the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision which circumscribes the use of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to primarily outsider hacking activities, rather than violations of employer computer usage policies or internet service providers’ terms of service/use, and request that the Supreme Court resolve the current circuit split. We previously discussed the Court’s decision and its impact.

Should your company be interested in taking a side in the dispute, including joining a letter to the Solicitor General or participating in an amicus filing, please contact your Seyfarth attorney contact or submit your interest here.