The decision by a California jury signals the end of a long legal odyssey.

Judge William Alsup doesn't seem convinced that the government had proved its case against the alleged Russian hacker.

Jurors could sooon be asking themselves the same questions that researchers and government officials have pondered for years: Is this the Russian government, or just some scammers?

The indictment was made public in the run-up to the trial of Yevgeniy Nikulin, who allegedly hacked LinkedIn.

Nikulin is refusing to speak substantively about his own criminal defense, detainment or mental health, according to a lawyer on his defense team.

Yevgeniy Nikulin's lawyers say they have not been able to adequately prepare for trial in the time the judge allotted to them.

Yevgeniy Nikulin, who denies all charges, has been in solitary for two months, defense lawyer Arkady Bukh told CyberScoop.

The evidence in the Yevgeniy Nikulin case will take at least two months for defense attorneys to sort through because of the sheer amount of data involved.

"The likelihood of a trial is not very high," his lawyer said. "The district has over a 99 percent conviction rate. We are not throwing clients under…