Van Buren v. United States
Decided June 3, 2021. Amy Coney Barrett delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 19-783 · 593 U.S. 374 (2021) · Cited 260 times
Holding
An individual “exceeds authorized access” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, 18 U. S. C. §1030(a)(2), when he accesses a computer with authorization but then obtains information located in particular areas of the computer—such as files, folders, or databases—that are off-limits to him.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 6–3.
Majority · 6
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Elena Kagan
- Neil M. Gorsuch
- Brett M. Kavanaugh
- Amy Coney Barrett · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Stephen G. Breyer
Dissenting · 3
- John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Clarence Thomas · filed a dissenting opinion
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Musacchio v. United States · 577 U.S. 237 (2016)
- Bond v. United States · 572 U.S. 844 (2014)
- Ross v. Blake · 578 U.S. 632 (2016)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter, Communities for Great Ore. · 515 U.S. 687 (1995)
- Carter v. United States · 530 U.S. 255 (2000)
- Central Virginia Community College v. Katz · 546 U.S. 356 (2006)
- Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. · 566 U.S. 93 (2012)
- McDonnell v. United States · 579 U.S. 550 (2016)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Fischer v. United States · 603 U.S. 480 (2024)
- Martin v. United States · 605 U.S. 395 (2025)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Amy Coney Barrett’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2021). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).