The US district judge presiding over the 360 modchip trial delayed the opening statements of the case yesterday due to concerns over the actions of government witnesses.
The case accuses defendant Matthew Crippen of fitting modchips in consoles and modifying software to accommodate pirated games.
Wired reports that District Judge Philip Gutierrez “slammed the prosecution over everything from alleged unlawful behavior by government witnesses, to proposed jury instructions harmful to the defence.”
The government’s two witnesses are Tony Rosario, Entertainment Software Association investigator, who secretly filmed Crippen modding a 360, which the defence argues is a violation of privacy law. The second is Ken McGrail, a Microsoft security employee, who examined the consoles Crippen is believed to have altered. McGrail’s admittance that he himself had modded consoles in college has added to Guitierrez’s concerns.
For the two counts of copyright violation Crippen is accused of, he could face a maximum of ten years imprisonment (five for each count). Crippen is believed by the government to have operated a modding business from his home.
The case continued following a recess with Guitierrez deciding to continue rather than dismiss the case or allow a deal to be made.