The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is backing a former
Intel employee in an action concerning his right to send e-mails to
former co-workers. What is known as a “friend of the court” brief
has been filed by the ACLU in a California State Court in
connection with a case which began in October 1998 with an action
brought by Intel against the former employee, Ken Hamidi.
Hamidi sent e-mails to his former co-workers using their work
e-mail addresses. Hamidi sent six e-mails over a two year period,
airing his grievances with the company. Intel described the
messages as "highly inflammatory and calculated to upset Intel's
employees." Intel could not block his e-mails so the company went
to court in October 1998 and asked for an injunction to stop
Hamidi’s e-mails on the grounds that they were ‘trespassing’ on its
equipment. The injunction was granted in June 1999, prohibiting
Hamidi sending unsolicited e-mails to addresses on Intel’s computer
system.
A “friend of the court” is a person recognised in US law who is
allowed to give argument or appear in a lawsuit (usually to file a
brief, but sometimes to take an active part) who is not a party to
the lawsuit. The ACLU brief contends that the injunction violates
the First Amendment (on freedom of speech) and that Intel’s
‘trespass’ argument is invalid because the e-mails caused no damage
or disruption to the Intel e-mail system.
Arguments in the case are not expected until the end of the
year.
