Paul Boyne is accused of electronic stalking, or cyber stalking a number of Connecticut family court judges over the past several years. Mr. Boyne was arrested in 2023 and is now on trial. Mr. Boyne has refused any plea deals that would keep him out of jail.

Cyber stalking laws came into existence in many States over the past 20 years. The laws basically make it a crime to electronically harass people over the Internet via text messaging or other electronic means. But the laws are broad enough to make it a crime to dox another person. Paul’s case involves doxing family court Judges over the Internet. Paul never actually sent a Judge a threatening message. Doxing is when you post someone’s name and address over the Internet, regardless of whether that person’s address can be easily looked up. The family court Judges have been trying to get Boyne arrested for years for posting their personal information over the Internet.

Should doxing be a crime if it doesn’t lead to any kind of violent acts? If someone like Kanye West has a meltdown and posts that he wants to “go death con 3 on the Jewish people” should he be arrested and charged with cyber stalking? The problem with these laws is that it gives the government a very powerful tool to go after many angry, depressed people sitting in their basements venting over the Internet without any clue as to the laws of the Internet. The government should at least post warnings over the Internet as to the rules of the road. Speed limit signs are posted on the highways, why not post warning signs over the Internet?

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s wife was recently doxed when she raised an upside down American flag on her front lawn in response to her neighbors who posted F*CK TRUMP signs on their yard. Nobody was arrested for doxing or writing inflammatory words about Alito’s wife online. There are very few cyber stalking cases that have been brought in Connecticut. The few cases brought over the last ten years have focused on internet harassment of a female by a jilted male, in conjunction with charges of threatening. Mr. Boyne was never charged with threatening or harassment, as he initiated no contact with anyone.

The Department of Justice and the State of Connecticut investigated Boyne for years before his arrest. The Feds refused to arrest him. Connecticut changed its cyber stalking laws to make it easier to arrest Mr. Boyne. Ironically, prior to Mr. Boyne’s arrest, a number of blogs popped up on the Internet that doxed Mr. Boyne. Information about Mr. Boyne’s sister and parents and Virginia address were posted and Mr. Boyne was attacked for his blog postings. These blogs have all been scrubbed from the Internet. Its not clear if Mr. Boyne’s attorney will raise this issue as a defense.

During Mr. Boyne’s first day of trial Connecticut Police Officer McCord testified as to each legal step she took in the process to have Mr. Boyne arrested and extradited to Connecticut from Virginia. Boyne’s attorney tried to get the search warrant and arrest warrant suppressed. That motion was not granted. The jury was brought out today, ie., 2/26. Ms. McCord read portions of Boyne’s blog all day to the jury. McCord also played a go pro video recording of her conversation with Mr. Boyne when she went to serve a search warrant at his parents house in Virginia. Mr. Boyne told her that the Feds investigated him once but dropped the investigation and that his blog was protected by the First Amendment.

Tomorrow the jury will get to hear Mr. Boyne’s public defender Todd Bussert cross examine Ms. McCord. He will most likely get McCord to admit that Boyne never made contact with any Judge that he posted about, nor did he ever commit any acts of violence against anyone. Mr. Boyne must have the intent to commit the crime he is accused of. If he honestly but erroneously thought that his blog was protected by the First Amendment, is he guilty of cyber stalking? A jury will determine Boyne’s fate. Whether Mr. Boyne testifies in his own defense remains to be seen. The general rule amongst trial attorneys is that defendants only testify if they think the case is going badly and they have nothing to lose.

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