9th Circuit Grants Rehearing En Banc on Nosal

On October 27, 2011, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that U.S. v. Nosal be reheard en banc by all of the Appeals Court judges and that the “three-judge panel opinion [in U.S. v. Nosal, 642 F.3d 781 (9th Cir. 2011)] shall not be cited as precedent by or to any court of the Ninth Circuit.” If the 9th Circuit should reverse its decision in Nosal, it is highly likely that this case will be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. The 9th Circuit’s reversal of Nosal would create a conflict between the 9th Circuit and the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th and 11th Circuits on the issue of whether the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act can be applied in the employer/employee context.