A federal judge Monday refused to dismiss several charges in the computer hacking indictment against former University of Michigan football co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss, less than one week after throwing out digital evidence seized by investigators.
The order by U.S. District Judge David Lawson preserves a high-profile criminal case set for trial Sept. 22 in federal court in Detroit that has further tarnished the scandal-plagued UM athletics department. The case is being closely watched by dozens of current and former college students who said their private information was hacked by Weiss, who is facing numerous lawsuits across the country.
Weiss had asked the judge to dismiss several counts of the indictment, saying some were duplicitous or charged the same crime in several different counts or that the alleged crimes did not happen in the eastern half of Michigan.
Matt Weiss walks out of federal court in downtown Detroit, March 24, 2025. The former offensive coordinator for the University of Michigan football program was arraigned after being accused of illegally accessing intimate images and videos from thousands of college athletes.
“Because none of these arguments merit dismissal of the charges, the motion will be denied,” Lawson wrote in a 15-page order.
“Weiss suggests that the government’s charging strategy will prejudice him through a potential lack of unanimity among the jurors, the possibility of double jeopardy, and lack of notice,” the judge added. “In this case, none of these concerns justify dismissing the challenged counts of the indictment.”
Weiss’ lawyer, David Benowitz, did not respond immediately to a message seeking comment Monday.
Weiss was charged with 24 crimes in March 2025, including 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces up to five years on each computer charge and two years on each identity theft charge.
Prosecutors said Weiss hacked into the personal accounts of thousands of female college athletes and stole intimate photographs and videos from 2015-23, including some showing students engaged in explicit sexual acts from 2015-23.
Last week, Lawson concluded evidence obtained from computers, tablets, and smartphones seized by University of Michigan Police officers in 2022 through state court search warrants violated the 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable government searches and seizures.
That included evidence from three computers at Schembechler Hall — the nerve center of the football team — and 14 electronic devices at Weiss’ house, including cell phones, tablets and storage devices.
“The lack of particularity in UMPD’s forensic search warrants renders them unconstitutional general warrants,” Lawson wrote in his ruling.
“They called for a full forensic search of the electronic devices and included no limiting language that tied the authorization to the probable cause that was presented in the applications and affidavits,” he added. “The categories of items to be searched are so numerous and broadly defined that they effectively permit a general search of the devices in their entirety.”
Simultaneously last week, the judge denied a request by Weiss’ defense team to suppress evidence seized from the football coordinator’s iCloud account.
rsnell@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Judge refuses to toss Matt Weiss case as UM hacking trial looms
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