Matthew Crippen LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities in the first-of-its-kind Xbox modding trial opened their case here Wednesday, hours after the judge called a recess to give the government time to reach a plea deal or dismiss the case. The government decided to forge ahead in the landmark trial after U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez gave the government a little breathing room on the standard of proof required to convict defendant Matthew Crippen on two counts of breaching the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The 28-year-old Southern California man is accused of modding Xboxes — a hack circumventing technological measures designed to block ...