A former Roanoke Star-Sentinel writer pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court to a misdemeanor charge connected to an apparent attempt to document an election law violation.

Willow Louisa Rosenblatt, 39, of Roanoke is accused of the unauthorized access of a computer system engaged in interstate commerce, an unusual charge rarely seen in Roanoke's federal courts. Translated, the accusation is that after her employment as a freelance sports writer ended in the spring of 2008, she set the Star-Sentinel's e-mail system to forward messages to her at home, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Burnham said. Star-Sentinel Publisher Stuart Revercomb had his personal e-mail forwarding to the paper, so that went to Rosenblatt as well, Burnham said.

Rosenblatt has claimed the e-mails showed the background of a full-page political ad that ran in the Star-Sentinel and The Roanoke Times before the May 2008 Roanoke City Council elections.

The full-page ad questioned the qualifications of candidate Court Rosen. It violated campaign finance laws because its listed sponsor, Citizens for Sensible Decisions, was not a registered political action committee. The version of the ad in The Roanoke Times said it was paid for by Joe Smith, which was discovered to be a false name used by then-Councilman Brian Wishneff.

Rosen won a council seat in the election, and Wishneff lost his. Wishneff was indicted on two misdemeanor charges for not reporting the ad as a campaign contribution, but these were dropped after he paid a $3,700 civil penalty to the state.

Shortly before the election, Rosenblatt provided the Star-Sentinel e-mails to The Roanoke Times, saying she had retrieved them legitimately. The Roanoke Times did not publish the e-mails.

Revercomb, who had been a political ally of Wishneff's, has said the e-mails were retrieved illegally and that they contained personal and company financial information.

Little has been discussed in court regarding the specifics of the case.

At an earlier hearing, Rosenblatt told U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Urbanski that the information from the e-mails she accessed had led to two indictments against a person.

"Other than you?" Urbanski asked.

On Friday, after Rosenblatt pleaded not guilty, Urbanski said that because the charge against her was a misdemeanor, she could choose whether to have the case heard by him or by a jury or district judge. If convicted, she would face a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a fine of $100,000.

Urbanski said Rosenblatt could remain free pending trial, but was not to spread any information that may have appeared on a Star-Sentinel computer.