Jurors deliberate 6 hours in Palin e-mail case
KNOXVILLE – A federal jury deliberated six hours without reaching a verdict in the case against a former University of Tennessee student charged with hacking into Sarah Palin’s e-mail.
The jury of eight men and six women started deliberating in Knoxville on Tuesday morning, then adjourned for the day around 4:45 p.m. in the case against 22-year-old David Kernell. They will return Wednesday.
He is charged with identity theft, mail fraud, aiding and abetting computer fraud and obstruction of justice. Kernell faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
He is accused of hacking into the then-Alaska governor’s e-mail while she was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008.
Palin and her daughter, Bristol, testified.
After Kernell chose not to testify, defense attorney Wade Davies said to the panel Monday in a closing argument that his client pulled a prank and guessed his way into Palin’s e-mail.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Weddle said to jurors Monday that Kernell set out with a plan to derail Palin’s campaign when she was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008.
Convictions on the identity theft and three other felony charges carry a maximum possible 50-year prison sentence.
More Stories
USF approves first out-of-state tuition hike in over a decade
USF’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a plan to increase tuition for out-of-state students beginning in the fall. The university will raise the fee for undergraduate out-of-state students by almost $35 per credit hour. USF recommends that students take 30 credit hours each year to graduate in four years. This means the total cost for […]
USF professors weigh in after US strikes on Iran nuclear sites
Kyle Burke has seen the U.S. enter multiple Middle Eastern conflicts, such as Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. Still, he said he wasn’t surprised when he saw the U.S. enter another in June. Burke, a USF history professor, has been studying and teaching U.S. foreign relations for nearly two decades. “I had a […]
USF’s presidential search slowed in spring, now resumes with new firm
The USF presidential search committee announced this month its plans to move forward with a new search firm in its pursuit of a new university president. In May, USF spokesperson Althea Johnson told The Oracle that USF would move forward with its presidential search after its initial search firm — SP&A Executive Search — finished […]
USF rocket team takes flight in NASA competition despite challenges
In a field in Alabama, USF Society of Aeronautics and Rocketry members waited for Prometheus — the rocket they’d spent nine months crafting — to take flight. USF’s SOAR was among the 53 teams that launched their rockets for the NASA Student Launch in Huntsville on May 4. The USF team placed 18th after launching […]
USF international students navigate travel under new visa limitations
With a ban restricting visa issuance and entry into the U.S. in effect, USF student Arshia Esmaeilian said he is afraid his parents might not be able to see him graduate next year unless the ban is lifted. “I didn’t really ask for this,” said Esmaeilian, a senior chemistry major. “It’s just something I have […]
USF’s Marshall Student Center to reduce hours amid budget constraints
USF’s Marshall Student Center will operate under reduced hours starting in the upcoming fall semester. New operating hours will go into effect starting on Aug. 17 as listed below: Monday–Thursday: Changing from 7 a.m.–midnight to 8 a.m.–11 p.m. Friday: Changing from 7 a.m.–1 a.m. to 8 a.m.–midnight Saturday: Changing from 8 a.m.–1 a.m. to 8 […]