Andre Yoskowitz
1 Dec 2010 22:23
The jury trial for the case of Matthew Crippen has been delayed today, after the presiding judge took 30 minutes to lecture the prosecution.
Crippen is on trial for allegedly modding Xbox 360 consoles to be able to play pirated games and homebrew.
U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez started the trial off with a 30-minute rant complaining about the prosecution and the government's case, with his main concerns being the prosecution's "star" witnesses.
The two witnesses in the case have both potentially broken the law, making them less credible. The first is
Entertainment Software Association investigator Tony Rosario, who has video of Crippen modding consoles in his home in L.A. Those videos, however, were taped secretly, in violation of California's strict privacy laws.
Microsoft security employee Ken McGrail is the second witness, the man who analyzed the consoles that were seized from Crippen's home. McGrail, however, has admitted under oath to modifying the original Xbox and the Xbox 360 back when he was in college.
Crippen has been charged with two counts of breaking the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA and faces up to 10 years in prison.
After Judge Gutierrez' rant, the prosecution asked for a recess and apologized to the court.