Soon to be on trial, alleged Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht is dealing with yet another rejection when it comes to his complex case.
Most recently, Ulbricht — who federal officials suggest was known as “Dread Pirate Roberts” on the illicit Silk Road website — and his legal counsel suggested that the FBI’s means of investigating Ulbricht was illegal and a breach of privacy rights, given the Bureau allegedly hacked his servers without proper warrants.
Judge Katherine Forrest wasn’t exactly having the defense, bringing up the point that Ulbricht hasn’t admitted to own the servers. As such, how could it possibly a breach of Mr. Ulbricht’s privacy rights?
Judge Forrest adds that Ulbricht could have claimed ownership in pre-trial statements, and they wouldn’t be used as evidence against him. Said statement could be used to impeach him if he decided to take the witness stand, though.
Despite his weakened defense, Ulbricht is still supported by many in the crypt0currency community. Unfortunately, if a jury finds him guilty of the charges he’s facing, it won’t spell out good things for his future.
Ulbricht’s family has created a website at FreeRoss.org in order to collection donations for his legal defense. Bitcoin evangelist Roger Ver has pledged over $160,000 himself to the cause.
If you are interested in reading the 38-page ruling issued by Judge Forrest, Andy Greenberg of Forbes has uploaded it here.
