One of the first prosecutions under the UK computer misuse act (R v Bedworth in 1991), ended up as effectively a jury nullification. IIRC the judge explicitly

One of the first prosecutions under the UK computer misuse act (R v Bedworth in 1991), ended up as effectively a jury nullification. IIRC the judge explicitly told the jury that the offered defence wasn't valid as a matter of law, but they acquitted him anyway.