Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service

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Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service
Seal of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.svg
Court United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Full case nameSteve Jackson Games, Inc., Steve Jackson, Elizabeth McCoy, Walter Milliken, Steffan O'Sullivan v. United States Secret Service
DecidedMarch 12, 1993
Docket nos.A 91 CA 346
Citation(s)816 F. Supp. 432
Case history
Subsequent action(s)Affirmed, 36 F.3d 457 (5th Cir. 1994).
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting Sam Sparks

Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service, 816 F. Supp. 432 (W.D. Tex. 1993), was a lawsuit arising from a 1990 raid by the United States Secret Service on the headquarters of Steve Jackson Games (SJG) in Austin, Texas. The raid, along with the Secret Service's unrelated Operation Sundevil, was influential in the founding of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. [1]

Contents

Raid

In October 1988, Bell South became aware that a proprietary memorandum relating to its 9-1-1 system had been posted on a bulletin board system (BBS) in Illinois. [2] This was reported to the Secret Service in July 1989. [2] In February 1990 Secret Service found that the document had been posted on the "Phoenix" BBS in Austin, Texas, which was operated by Loyd Blankenship, who was at the time employed by SJG and moderator of the company's own BBS, "Illuminati." [2] The Secret Service believed there was probable cause to search computers belonging to Blankenship and his employer, and a search warrant was issued on February 28. [3]

The Secret Service executed the warrant on SJG on 1 March 1990. [4] Three SJG computers were seized, along with over 300 floppy disks. [4] Among these was the master copy of GURPS Cyberpunk , a role-playing game written by Blankenship which SJG was about to release. [5] The "Illuminati" server included private personal emails to and from SJG employees. [6] The material was returned in June 1990. [7]

Trial

SJG sued the Secret Service for damages arising from loss of revenue while the computers were in its custody. [5] Steve Jackson and three other employees also sued for invasion of privacy, claiming the seizures were illegal under the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Stored Communications Act. [8] Loyd Blankenship was not party to the suits. [9] The case came to trial in 1993 in the Western Texas District Court. [9] SJG was represented by the Austin firm of George, Donaldson & Ford, while the lead counsel was Pete Kennedy. SJG won two out of the three counts and was awarded $50,000 in statutory damages and $250,000 in attorney's fees. [5] No compensatory damages were awarded. [5] The judge said that Steve Jackson had little involvement in SJG at the time of the raid, and the company was close to Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and that Jackson's renewed involvement in the wake of the raid had turned the company's fortunes around. [5] The judge reprimanded the Secret Service, calling their warrant preparation "sloppy," [4] suggesting that they needed "better education" regarding relevant statutes, [10] and finding that they had no basis to suspect SJG of any wrongdoing. [2] The third count dealing with interception of e-mail was upheld in October 1994 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. [11] The Electronic Frontier Foundation was an amicus curiae at the appeal. [11] Jackson and other Austin area activists including John Quarterman, Jon Lebkowsky, Bruce Sterling, Smoot Carl-Mitchell, Lar Kaufman and Matt Lawrence formed EFF-Austin in 1991.

Although the raid was not a part of Operation Sundevil, this law enforcement effort, which spanned two years, has a tarnished image owing to a lack of successful prosecutions and questionable procedures. [12] The GURPS Cyberpunk book lists "Unsolicited Comments: The United States Secret Service" on its credits page. [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>GURPS</i> Tabletop role-playing game system

The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems were story- or genre-specific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Jackson Games</span> American game publishing company

Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.

<i>GURPS Cyberpunk</i>

GURPS Cyberpunk is a genre toolkit for cyberpunk-themed role-playing games set in a near-future dystopia, such as that envisioned by William Gibson in his influential novel Neuromancer. It was published in 1990 after a significant delay caused by the original draft being a primary piece of evidence in Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service.

Loyd Blankenship, better known by his pseudonym The Mentor, is an American computer hacker and writer. He has been active since the 1970s, when he was a member of the hacker groups Extasyy Elite and Legion of Doom.

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Pyramid was a gaming magazine, publishing articles primarily on role-playing games, but including board games, card games, and other sorts of games. It began life in 1993 as a print publication of Steve Jackson Games for its first 30 issues, though it has been published on the Internet since March 1998. Print issues were bimonthly; the first online version published new articles each week; the second online version is monthly. Pyramid is headquartered in Austin, Texas. It replaced Steve Jackson Games' previous magazine Roleplayer.

Operation Sundevil was a 1990 nationwide United States Secret Service crackdown on "illegal computer hacking activities." It involved raids in approximately fifteen different cities and resulted in three arrests and the confiscation of computers, the contents of electronic bulletin board systems (BBSes), and floppy disks. It was revealed in a press release on May 9, 1990. The arrests and subsequent court cases resulted in the creation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The operation is now seen as largely a public-relations stunt. Operation Sundevil has also been viewed as one of the preliminary attacks on the Legion of Doom and similar hacking groups. The raid on Steve Jackson Games, which led to the court case Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service, is often attributed to Operation Sundevil, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation states that it is unrelated and cites this attribution as a media error.

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<i>GURPS Illuminati University</i>

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<i>GURPS Bunnies & Burrows</i>

GURPS Bunnies & Burrows is a sourcebook for GURPS. The Bunnies & Burrows game was modified by Steffan O'Sullivan and republished by Steve Jackson Games as an official GURPS supplement in 1992.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">GURPS Illuminati</span> Tabletop role-playing game

GURPS Illuminati is a supplement for the GURPS tabletop role-playing game about secret societies, conspiracies, and conspiracy theories. Written by Nigel Findley, it was published in 1992, the year before Steve Jackson Games sued the Secret Service, and it won the Origins award for best role-playing game supplement in 1993, as the Origins Awards were not awarded in 1992.

Elizabeth "Archangel Beth" McCoy is a writer and editor in the role-playing game industry at Steve Jackson Games.

<i>GURPS Steampunk</i> Role-playing game sourcebook

GURPS Steampunk is a role-playing game sourcebook written by William H. Stoddard and published by Steve Jackson Games in 2000. The supplement facilitates play in the steampunk genre using the GURPS system. Upon publication, the book won the Origins Award for "Best Roleplaying Supplement". As the most detailed definition of the genre at the time, it was also credited with reifying the attributes of steampunk. GURPS Steampunk was accompanied by licensed publications in the world of Castle Falkenstein and followed by supplements by Jo Ramsay and Phil Masters. Since 2016, SJG has published additional releases in the genre, compatible with GURPS Fourth Edition.

<i>GURPS Cyberpunk Adventures</i> Near-future role-playing adventures for GURPS Cyberpunk

GURPS Cyberpunk Adventures is a trio of near-future cyberpunk role-playing adventures published by Steve Jackson Games in 1992 for the third edition of GURPS.

<i>GURPS Vampire: The Masquerade</i> Licensed adaptation of Vampire: the Masquerade for GURPS

GURPS Vampire: The Masquerade is a licensed adaptation of White Wolf Publishing's horror role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, written by Jeff Koke and published by Steve Jackson Games in 1993 for the third edition of their GURPS rules.

<i>GURPS Camelot</i>

GURPS Camelot is an Arthurian supplement published by Steve Jackson Games in 1991 for GURPS.

<i>GURPS Old West</i>

GURPS Old West is a supplement published by Steve Jackson Games in 1991 for GURPS.

References

Sources

Citations

  1. ↑ "The Top Ten Media Errors About the SJ Games Raid". Steve Jackson Games. October 12, 1994. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2006.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service, 816F. Supp.432 , 435( W.D. Tex. 1993), archived from the original.
  3. ↑ 816 F. Supp. at 436.
  4. 1 2 3 816 F. Supp. at 437.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 816 F. Supp. at 438–439.
  6. ↑ 816 F. Supp. at 441.
  7. ↑ 816 F. Supp. at 439.
  8. ↑ 816 F.Supp. at 434.
  9. 1 2 816 F. Supp. at 432.
  10. ↑ 816 F.Supp. at 444.
  11. 1 2 Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service, 36F.3d457 , 458( 5th Cir. 1994), archived from the original.
  12. ↑ Bruce Esquibel (October 8, 1994). ""Operation Sundevil" is finally over for Dr. Ripco". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  13. ↑ Loyd Blankenship (1990). GURPS Cyberpunk . Steve Jackson Games. ISBN   1-55634-168-7.
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