State v. Adam Jilling, Gary Gagne, Daniel Anton, George Quintal

Syllabus

In these cases, consolidated by the Supreme Court for opinion, the State of Rhode Island appealed from Superior Court orders and decisions granting the defendants' motions to dismiss the criminal information against them, which included several counts of accessing a computer for fraudulent purposes, in violation of G.L. 1956 § 11-52-2, and conspiracy. The state argued on appeal that the trial justice erred in granting the motions when he conducted an erroneous statutory analysis and overlooked material facts in the criminal information package that established probable cause to believe that the defendants committed these crimes.<br><br>The Supreme Court concluded that § 11-52-2 prohibits direct or indirect access to a computer in order to obtain the property of another by means of false or fraudulent pretenses. The Court reasoned that the gravamen of the statute is the purpose for which the computer is being used: to commit a larcenous act—rather than the unlawful access itself. The Court further noted that, where false or fraudulent pretenses are employed to access the computer in the first instance, § 11-52-2 does not create a felony the false or fraudulent pretenses must be intended as the means employed to obtain the property. Additionally, the Court examined the statutory scheme of chapter 52 of title 11 and determined that the legislative history supported the Court's statutory interpretation of § 11-52-2. <br><br>Ultimately, the Court held that the defendants' conduct did not fall within the purview of § 11-52-2 because there was no evidence in the criminal information showing probable cause that the defendants made any misrepresentations, fraudulent or otherwise, to the female customers whose electronic devices were accessed. Similarly, the Court held that, without the § 11-52-2 charges, the conspiracy counts could not survive. Therefore, the Court determined that the trial justice properly dismissed all counts.<br><br>Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed