[NonValueAdded]

Surely there are enough other laws on the books (cue Dr. Ferris) to get a conviction on something - theft of Trade Secrets perhaps, or has this string of charges tripped double-jeopardy?

[Brad from Tennessee]

I think this guy was arrested shortly after Goldman discovered he had a copy of the source code. Their biggest fear may have been that someone with enough cash or credit would replicate their system and start using it for trades. This might skew the market enough to render Goldman's program not reliable.

The court may be using this case to spur Congress into clarifying the statutes so this specific activity is illegal.