Online technology, as this column frequently has noted, presents numerous challenges to attorneys during litigation,1 while managing their firms and marketing their services,2 and in trying to keep up with the newest legal developments and rulings.3 A recent decision in a case of first impression by Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York highlights how online technology also presents challenges in criminal law enforcement.
The ruling in the case, United States v. Ulbricht, addresses novel legal issues as they relate to the Internet and a criminal defendant’s role in purported conspiracies, and the application of federal criminal law for the first time to the alleged online conduct that formed the basis for the government’s charges.4 It appears to be the first New York case to directly address Bitcoin currency—a form of virtual payment that recently has been in the news and, with other virtual currencies, is the subject of a recent advisory by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.5
