Web Update: Appel '81 sanctioned for violations of court order

Computer science professor Andrew Appel '81 has been ordered to apologize and pay attorney's fees after a Mercer County Superior Court judge ruled that he twice violated the conditions of a protective order regarding an expert report he prepared on the security of Sequoia Voting Systems' voting machines.

Appel prepared the report as an expert witness in Gusciora v. McGreevey, a case in which the plaintiffs are challenging the legality of New Jersey’s use of voting machines produced by Sequoia Voting Systems.

Appel violated the order - which prohibited him from disclosing the contents of the report before a certain date - first by sharing the report's contents with the plaintiffs in a Louisiana court case on Oct. 16 and then by discussing the report with Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten, according to a statement from Sequoia Voting Systems.

The order, issued Sept. 24, required that the report be withheld for an additional 30 days. It was intended to protect Sequoia's proprietary information.

Appel said in an October interview that he believes Sequoia attempted to prevent his report from being released. “[Sequoia] kept filing motions to delay,” he explained. “I think Sequoia did not want this report to ever become public."

Sequoia filed a motion in November concerning Appel's alleged violations of the protective order.

Judge Linda Feinberg issued the ruling at a Nov. 21 motion hearing, saying, "The expert report was not to be disclosed. And I am disturbed by this," according to the transcript of the hearing.

"I would be very disappointed if this report was shared with anybody else," Feinberg added. "It's clearly not allowed. Dr. Felten was not somebody who was under any obligation. He had not signed any agreement."

Appel has since issued an apology, in accordance with Feinberg's ruling. "To the extent that the terms of the protective order were not complied with, Professor Appel sincerely apologizes to this Court," the apology states.

Appel will also pay $1,000 in legal fees to Sequoia.

More to come