Experts forecast difficult legal struggle for previous state of Florida staff Rebekah Jones

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Previous state staff Rebekah Jones is most likely to encounter a hard legal fight, industry experts say.

Fired for insubordination immediately after claiming the point out was manipulating COVID-19 case knowledge, Jones now faces a felony cost following another person illegally accessed state programs in November.

Through a raid last month, condition police recovered Jones’ pc. Authorities then done a forensic examination and allegedly found cookies — digital fingerprints — showing a consumer illegally breached point out programs and downloaded speak to data for practically 20,000 persons.

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In accordance to the arrest affidavit, a short time afterwards, a person making use of Jones’ IP deal with despatched a message to extra than 1,700 condition employees, urging them to converse up.

“It is really time to speak up just before an additional 17,000 folks are useless,” the information study. “You know this is incorrect. You really don’t have to be a element of this. Be a hero. Speak out in advance of it is really also late.”

Derek Intelligent is a online video video game designer who has performed private digital forensic get the job done. He said the cookies, in individual, pose a obstacle for Jones.

“It’s a critical challenge,” Intelligent said, creator of 3000Ad, Inc. “It can be a pretty serious problem. People today have absent to prison for less.”

Cookies, Good said, can be recovered even if deleted and retailer details like time, day, even a user’s name. The Fort Lauderdale-dependent pc qualified believed the proof could be tough to dispute.

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“Quick of proving that any individual else made use of the product, either regionally or remotely, I really don’t see how she gets out of this,” Smart said.

Knowledge safety attorney Al Leiva is not concerned in Jones’ scenario but thinks her lawyers will now emphasis on discrediting the proof collected.

“They’re likely to have to poke some holes in what the point out is alleging here,” Leiva claimed.

Most likely, a protection pro will evaluation the proof, the South Florida legal professional stated. He thought they would look at regardless of whether police designed flaws all through evaluation or experienced a chain of custody situation.

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“There are many items that can be introduced up,” Leiva claimed. “It is definitely going to appear down to the evidence the state has gathered.”

Jones has denied the charge, a third-diploma felony, and her legal professional has promised a vigorous defense. If convicted, she faces up to 5 decades in jail.

Jones has also filed a civil match versus the point out. She has alleged her constitutional rights had been violated and that the December raid at her household was an act of retaliation for talking out.