STATE OF NEW JERSEY V. RORY EDWARD TRINGALI
DOCKET NO. A-1262-15T1
The State alleged that, acting in Florida, defendant paid
an accomplice to launch spam attacks on a website that was
integral to a New Jersey internet-based business, for the
purpose of harming the business owner. The Appellate Division
reversed an order dismissing the indictment charging defendant
with the offenses of disrupting or impairing computer services,
N.J.S.A. 2C:20-25(b), and impersonating another for the purpose
of obtaining a benefit or depriving another of a benefit,
N.J.S.A. 2C:21-17(a)(1). As to both offenses, the harmful result
to the victim is an "element" of the offense, within the meaning
of the territorial jurisdiction statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:1-3(a)(1)
and -3(g). Because the prosecutor produced some evidence that
the New Jersey victims suffered harm in this State which was an
element of each computer crime statute, New Jersey has
territorial jurisdiction to prosecute defendant for those
offenses. Therefore, the trial court erred in dismissing those
counts of the indictment for lack of territorial jurisdiction.
