How do you kick an anonymous person off of a network? Other than blocking the MAC address, the only thing I can think of is to block non-HTTP access and redirect any HTTP requests to a page explaining what has happened with instructions for getting unblocked in case the block was due to a misunderstanding.
I find it odd to provide unlimited access to a network without any further form of authentication than just the IP address. There are enough alternatives out (e.g. Shibboleth) that could have been implemented if there were a needed for closer monitoring of access to journal databases.
I guess if he had purchased multiple laptops to circumvent the filter, the prosecutor would have argued along similar lines.
So the problem is that there is room to argue that the notion of unauthorized access exists on a network that doesn't do anything to identify or authenticate users.
