[hollerith]

>I could argue it both ways (theft and non-theft)

If the district attorney's office in Santa Clara County wanted to, it is more likely than not that they could get a conviction for illegal lodging (misdemeanor).

If I were the district attorney, I'd tend to let something like this slide when the doer is as young as this guy is. It bothers me a little though that he is speaking openly about it to the press because that suggests that he has no shame about it. If he really has no shame at all about it, I would prefer that he be dragged into court.

If your reaction to this report is to excuse the behavior because the guy is an entrepreneur, I think your reaction is no better than, "It's OK because he's a member of our club."

[ChuckMcM]

"If the district attorney's office in Santa Clara County wanted to, it is more likely than not that they could get a conviction for illegal lodging (misdemeanor)."

I mention the risk of violating zoning laws below but I also asked a public defender their take on that aspect as well. They said pretty much that unless you could prove that AOL both knew and allowed this to occur, or could prove that they didn't actively try to discourage such things, you could not convict them of violating the rules. She related a case of a homeless person who was charged with loitering and the business was charged for allowing people to live at their facility in violation of zoning laws, but the case against the business was dismissed for lack of evidence that the business knew about the activity or allowed it. I expect AOL would use a similar defense in this case.

[hollerith]

I meant that the district attorney could get a conviction of the young entrepreneur if he wanted to. "Illegal lodging" means sleeping where it is illegal to sleep.

[tankbot]

Could you please reference the law that prohibits people sleeping on AOL's couches?

His security clearance was never revoked. Nobody directly informed him he couldn't sleep there. I'd say this is perfect 'grey area' since he didn't knowingly commit any crime and AOL didn't knowingly allow it.

[hollerith]

>Could you please reference the law that prohibits people sleeping on AOL's couches?

Entering into a search engine the phrases "California penal code" and "illegal lodging" should allow you to find the text of the law.

I learned about this law when someone I knew was charged with illegal lodging for sleeping in one of the building at Stanford long ago. (He pled no lo contendere, had no priors, and was fined $100.)

No offense, but I do not want to discuss it with you anymore.

[mbreese]

Just because his security badge kept working doesn't mean that he had the right to be there. He knew he wasn't supposed to be there (he made plans for what to do when he got kicked out). So, the law would be trespassing. There would probably also be some computer crime laws triggered for inappropriate use of resources.

It's not a grey area - he's just lucky people like him.