The criminal trial of Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Schrader began Tuesday, with jurors hearing how the judge's bewilderment at repeatedly finding unauthorized documents on her court computer system turned to frustration, then exasperation when county tech staffers were unable to pinpoint her problems.

Schrader ultimately turned to a private investigator, who in turn enlisted a computer expert with a criminal record to install a device to monitor her court computer. Schrader suspected District Attorney Danny Porter and his office were monitoring her computer, her lawyers said.

Schrader's efforts to uncover who might be accessing her computer resulted in her indictment on computer theft charges. Private investigator T.J. Ward, forensic investigator Frank Karic and convicted child molester Ed Kramer were also charged.

But Schrader alone is facing charges now, with Ward, Karic and Kramer all having reached plea deals in exchange for their expected testimony.

Porter and his office recused from Schrader's case and her prosecution is being led by Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia General Counsel Robert Smith Jr. and staff attorney John Regan.

Regan told jurors that Schrader placed herself above the law and violated rules concerning outside access to county computers and the placement installation of outside software and devices on them without authorization.

Scrader "opened the door to allow information to be taken out" and altered, Smith said.

Schrader's attorney, B.J. Bernstein, countered that the judge "raised legitimate concerns" when she found restricted records from the Georgia Criminal Information Center printed out in her office.

Courthouse techs were "baffled," she said, and continued to offer no explanation when an 18-page police report materialized or when a family member's passport information was printed out.

Schrader also learned that two of Porters' prosecutors were "permissive users" of her computer network, raising concerns that "the state could see her computer," Bernstein said.

"She was a judge, and she was exasperated," Bernstein said.

Schrader knew of Turner as a well-regarded investigator who frequently appeared on CNN, Bernstein said. Turner, in turn, hired Karic and Kramer.

Schrader was told Kramer's name was "Elliott," and the judge no idea the DragonCon co-founder was a convicted child molester, Bernstein said.

Called to testify, Porter related that it was a search warrant served on Kramer's home in Duluth after reports that he had photographed a child in a doctor's office that led to the discovery of the data breach.

Investigators combing through Kramer's computers found data, emails and other materials on Kramer's computer, and a search of his cellphone revealed text messages between Kramer and Schrader.

The district attorney said he initially visited the judge to tell her what was found, because he thought her home network might have been hacked, and offered to have his office's staff inspect it.

"She said she'd think about it, then changed the subject and asked whether I was aware of problems with her computer," Porter said.

Porter said that, when his investigators found data and information from Schrader's network on Kramer's computer, he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter.

Bernstein asked why, before her indictment, Porter had requested and been granted a motion recusing Schrader from any of his office's cases.

Porter said he knew Schrader had accused him of tapping her computer.

"You took personal offense?" Bernstein asked.

"To a degree I did, yes," replied Porter. "I mean, nobody likes to be accused of a crime."

Particularly compelling testimony and evidence was offered by GBI special agent Sara Lue, who met with Schrader shortly after Porter asked the agency to investigate.

When Lue showed up at the courthouse and asked to speak with her, a cordial Schrader said she was "relieved" and "glad that I was there from the GBI," Lue said.

"She said she felt like an outsider, like there was some sort of conspiracy against her … She told me she believed her office had been bugged," Lue said.

Schrader told Lue she hired Ward, who connected her with somebody named Elliot to see whether her computer was being hacked and that he had brought in Karic.

The judge said it was only later that she found out Elliott was Kramer, Lue said.

Schrader also gave her a surreptitious cellphone recording of a meeting of Gwinnett County judges held after the breach of the court system was discovered.

The plainly alarmed judges can be heard peppering Superior Court Chief Judge George Hutchinson with questions concerning the scope of the breach, how they should handle it—and who among them had enabled the court's system to be accessed.

Hutchinson dances around the question and says only "that person has not been discharged" when asked.

There's a murmur until someone says "Oooh, I know what's going on."

"Needless to say, I feel Iike I'm being a little mysterious," Hutchinson said.

Lue also produced a thick file folder stuffed with documents and confettied with Post-it notes Schrader gave her, a testament of the letters, emails and pleas she compiled of her efforts to "get someone's attention."

Lue quoted Schrader as saying she had "thought the simplest, most noninvasive thing to do was hire a private investigator."

"I'm a woman of integrity, and I will face the consequences of, you know, getting duped," Schrader told the agent. "I don't know if there are laws against it."