Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by hnisnotreddit on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @03:19PM
(#7349579)
In Canada, this would be grounds for "Malicious Prosecution", which is pretty much the only way to oust a prosecutor.
I've seen it done only once with my own eyes; Lawyer was disbarred, and the now-former lawyer "settled" the criminal charges as a pro-se litigant (which I didn't know was possible) by paying a fine (literally, writing a cheque in court), and walking out the door a free man.
I'd say giving people the ability to settle criminal charges as a civil matter is a much larger recipe for abuse, leading to Prosecutors not caring about the damage they do, even if their feet are held to the fire.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by ageisp0lis on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:11PM
(#7348604)
I agree. I wanted to see the EFF's amicus brief, and for the Court to decide on the issue so that we could have good case law with hyperlinks as protected speech.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by rhizome on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:38PM
(#7348830)
Do you want that outcome enough to get yourself charged for activities that would bring it about? After all, without a SCOTUS decision the fruit is still hanging on the vine for any of us to snatch.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by thatthatis on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:37PM
(#7348820)
No, I wanted him to ultimately be vindicated by the highest court so as to protect us all in the future.
Martyrs die, I wanted him to set a precident without getting harmed. Like Brown when he fought the board of education, or Johnson when he fought the state of Texas.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by thisiswrong on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:16PM
(#7348641)
Are you serious? Why would you even say that?
People like you are the problem. Linking to something, just like talking about something, is protected in most countries by free speech. The simple fact that this journalist was arrested is disgustingly totalitarian and should be of great concern. To everyone.
Why would you want this to go all the way up the rotten vines of a corrupted court system that only gives favorable rulings to those with ties to the rulers?
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by pessimizer on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @03:48PM
(#7349776)
Are you intending the first sentence to be a quote from somebody? If so, it couldn't be from the person you responded to, who never said that they didn't trust the system.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by ryandrake on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:32PM
(#7348772)
But, a Supreme Court ruling equating linking with distribution would be a disaster. If I were the Internet I'd rather not roll the dice with a court consisting of people who remember black and white TV.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by rayiner on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:43PM
(#7348871)
You think the Supreme Court somehow manages to wade through incredibly complex insurance or financial regulation cases but can't understand the relevant features of a hyperlink? Read through Reno v. ACLU, which struck down portions of the Communications Decency Act almost two decades ago (written by Justice Stevens who was at the time 77): http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1557224836887427.... The description of the internet, as it existed in the late 1990's, is pretty cogent for a bunch of people who remember black and white TV.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by WildUtah on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @04:09PM
(#7349942)
Yeah, but Stevens was the smartest one on the court on tech issues into his 90's because he cared. That overcomes age. But Stevens is gone. I hope his retirement is healthy and happy.
Aside from Breyer, I don't think anyone on the current court cares at all.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by thatthatis on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:42PM
(#7348861)
When it comes down to it, I trust the supreme court more than I trust prosecutors.
Right now, the decision of if linking is speech that can be prosecuted is being decided by prosecutors.
And, if scotus rules that it isn't protected I'd like to know that so we can fight to change the laws to make it protected. And so I can follow their clear tests to keep myself out of prison.
I find prosecutorial discretion to usually be a far worse form of tyrany than clear case law, even if I disagree with it.
Tyranny thrives in the opaque discretion of buerocrats.
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by a3n on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:41PM
(#7348853)
The NRA pretty much never wants to settle 2nd Amendment issues at the Supreme Court for the same reason, you never really know which way the dice will roll.
(Beyond that, it's much more lucrative for the NSA to have the doubt and controversy persist, because there will always be pro-2nd people who see the NRA as their best shot at grouping together to fight for their 2nd Amendment rights. That was my main motivation when I belonged to the NRA. "It's a profit deal.")
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by notlisted on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:40PM
(#7348843)
Sorry, but that made me laugh and feel terribly old at the same time (touché, oh wait... so do I!). Can we use "played 78RPM records in their teenage bedrooms" instead?
(Fun fact: "The date of the very last 78-rpm record is not known, although some claim that the last one issued in the U.S. was Chuck Berry's "Too Pooped to Pop " (Chess 1747), released in February 1960.)
Re:US prosecutors drop link-related charges from Barrett Bro...
by vonmoltke on Wednesday March 05, 2014 @01:15PM
(#7348637)
From the main indictment, its the charge of possessing account information and credit card numbers from Stratfor subscribers with intent to defraud. The two smaller indictments with a total of 5 more charges are still intact, but I don't remember what those charges are.
... Barrett Brown ... has been indicted on three federal charges: making an online threat, retaliating against a federal officer and conspiring to release the personal information of a U.S. government employee.
Giving prosecutors enormous power and absolute immunity is a recipe for abuse, our justice system is fundamentally broken.
I've seen it done only once with my own eyes; Lawyer was disbarred, and the now-former lawyer "settled" the criminal charges as a pro-se litigant (which I didn't know was possible) by paying a fine (literally, writing a cheque in court), and walking out the door a free man.
I'd say giving people the ability to settle criminal charges as a civil matter is a much larger recipe for abuse, leading to Prosecutors not caring about the damage they do, even if their feet are held to the fire.
Martyrs die, I wanted him to set a precident without getting harmed. Like Brown when he fought the board of education, or Johnson when he fought the state of Texas.
Poetic, but not entirely logical.
People like you are the problem. Linking to something, just like talking about something, is protected in most countries by free speech. The simple fact that this journalist was arrested is disgustingly totalitarian and should be of great concern. To everyone.
Why would you want this to go all the way up the rotten vines of a corrupted court system that only gives favorable rulings to those with ties to the rulers?
What?
Aside from Breyer, I don't think anyone on the current court cares at all.
Right now, the decision of if linking is speech that can be prosecuted is being decided by prosecutors.
And, if scotus rules that it isn't protected I'd like to know that so we can fight to change the laws to make it protected. And so I can follow their clear tests to keep myself out of prison.
I find prosecutorial discretion to usually be a far worse form of tyrany than clear case law, even if I disagree with it.
Tyranny thrives in the opaque discretion of buerocrats.
(Beyond that, it's much more lucrative for the NSA to have the doubt and controversy persist, because there will always be pro-2nd people who see the NRA as their best shot at grouping together to fight for their 2nd Amendment rights. That was my main motivation when I belonged to the NRA. "It's a profit deal.")
(Fun fact: "The date of the very last 78-rpm record is not known, although some claim that the last one issued in the U.S. was Chuck Berry's "Too Pooped to Pop " (Chess 1747), released in February 1960.)
Are the legal docs not proofread?
... Barrett Brown ... has been indicted on three federal charges: making an online threat, retaliating against a federal officer and conspiring to release the personal information of a U.S. government employee.
The other 12 (11 of which were dropped as described in the main article): http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2012/12/new-federal-indictme...