Politics | Sarah Palin Palin Hacker Found Guilty on 2 Counts David Kernell convicted of obstruction of justice, unlawful email access By Marie Morris Posted Apr 30, 2010 3:05 PM CDT Copied Sarah Palin speaks to reporters during a recess outside the federal courthouse in Knoxville, Tenn., April 23, 2010. She had testified in the hacking case against David Kernell, who has been convicted. (AP Photo/Wade Payne) A federal jury has convicted a 22-year-old former University of Tennessee student of hacking Sarah Palin's Yahoo email account during the 2008 campaign. David Kernell was acquitted of wire fraud but convicted of a felony, obstruction of justice, and a misdemeanor, unlawful computer access. The jury failed to reach a verdict on a charge of identity theft, WBIR in Knoxville reports. Kernell faces a maximum sentence of 21 years. Read These Next They saw skulls in his car, found 'horror movie' in his home. You may notice some big changes to your Gmail. Patrick Swayze's younger brother dies at 63. Grok appears to have finally put a stop to troublesome images on X. Report an error