This was not the act of an ordinary student.  His name is DAVID C. KERNELL the son of DEMOCRAT member of the Tennessee Legislature, Representative Michael Kernell of Memphis.  You can imagine the media coverage in 2008 had the offspring of Republican legislative member in some state was alleged to have done something similar to Vice –Presidential candidate JOE BIDEN.  Largely, the national media ignored this issue because it would have put a dent in their ongoing narrative about the favored Barack Obama.

However, now each individual including Governor Palin and young Mr. Kernell will have their day in Federal Court and justice will be determined.  Once again it will be interesting to see how the media handles this issue.  Here is some further detail of the case as reported by the KNOXNEWS:

Palin, former Alaska governor and running mate to Republican Sen. John McCain in his 2008 bid for the White House, will testify in U.S. District Court in Knoxville next month when University of Tennessee student David C. Kernell stands trial on charges involving Palin’s personal Yahoo! e-mail account.

Kernell’s defense attorney, Wade Davies, wants Palin to bring any documents relating to that account – when it was opened, how it could be accessed and why and who was allowed to use it.

“I don’t want to get in the position where at the last minute there are questions about whether (subpoenas) were properly delivered,” Davies told U.S. Magistrate Judge Clifford Shirley on Wednesday when seeking the legal OK to electronically serve witnesses, including Palin.

Federal prosecutors have insisted Davies’ records request of Palin is a veiled fishing expedition. Shirley will hear more about the subpoena debate at a March 24 hearing.

Regardless of what, if any, records Palin is ordered to bring, her presence is guaranteed. She is, prosecutors note, the alleged victim.

Kernell, the son of longtime Democratic Memphis state Rep. Mike Kernell, faces a four-count indictment accusing him of stealing Palin’s identity, improperly accessing her personal e-mail account, allowing at least one other person to access it and trying to wipe from his laptop evidence of his alleged crimes. He is alleged to have committed the crimes while attending the University of Tennessee. Mr. Kernell used publicly available information to figure out Palin’s password security question. On that, even Davies agrees. He is not accused of hacking into her e-mail account or computer.

The Justice Department contends Kernell’s crimes came when he reset her password and used the new one to peruse her e-mail in what turned out to be a fruitless search for politically damaging information. A team of federal prosecutors, headed locally by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Weddle, allege Kernell posted the new password on a Web site, allowing at least one other person to access Palin’s e-mail. Davies counters that Kernell’s actions rate no more than a misdemeanor charge, and he accuses the government of trumping up the charges because the victim is a political celebrity.

Kernell faces an April 20 trial. At the pre-trial hearing set later this month, Davies and the feds will square off on whether Shirley had the authority to issue search warrants for Internet service providers outside Tennessee, including Yahoo! in California.

Prosecutor Josh Goldfoot on Wednesday argued Davies waited too long to raise a legal stink over the court’s reach, but Davies said his bid to suppress the fruits of those search warrants will not delay the trial.

“Either the court has the authority to issue the search warrants or it doesn’t,” he said. “I think the issue is simple.” Shirley agreed to allow Davies to make his case. “The court’s going to grant that motion,” he said.

Barring any further delaying tactics by his attorneys, a University of Tennessee student accused of hacking the personal e-mail of Sarah Palin will face trial April 20:

U.S. Magistrate Clifford Shirley set the date Wednesday at a motions hearing in the case of 22-year-old David C. Kernell. He is accused of gaining access to Palin’s account in September 2008 by correctly answering a series of personal security questions. He has pleaded not guilty.

Kernell is the son of state Rep. Michael Kernell (D-Memphis).

Update: Well, we did say, “barring any further delaying tactics by his attorneys.” And so, as Knoxville News Sentinel Nashville bureau chief Tom Humphrey reports, Kernell’s lawyer Wade Davies is now challenging the federal judge’s authority to issue search warrants for Internet companies outside Tennessee. Davies is trying to keep any evidence obtained from Yahoo! and other Internet providers from being introduced in the case.