The US law enforcement authorities have discovered where it is Silk Road by finding a vulnerability. So they gained access to a server from a street that was not public. If others do the same, the government calls it a felony.
About 18 months ago, 27man Andrew Auernheimer was found guilty of conspiracy when he gained access to servers of AT&T Inc without the company's consent. He was sentenced to 41 months in prison, fined and parole with conditions.
The federal government recognizes the above energy as a felony, specifically “unauthorized access under the Electronic Fraud and Abuse Act. That's why we have to wonder if the same logic applies to the FBI, especially when it gained access to the servers of Silk Road on Tor. The government claims to have gained access by following the leaked addresses because the server was not properly configured.
Professor Orin Kerr of George Washington University Law School, he wrote in the blog Volokh Conspiracy, that if Auernheimer was found guilty of unauthorized access, then that FBI is illegal, because he did exactly the same.
Of course we can not know what the end of history will be, as its case Ross Ulbricht Silk Road manager is still on trial. We just wonder if Kerr's reports affect Ulbricht's defense. Does the law apply to everyone or, where appropriate, does the "purpose sanctify the means" apply?
To see how they do with the "windows" in America.