Comments on: It’s Not Just The Fourth

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 21:28:17 +0000

Badtux, in a criminal case the victim is just a witness and has no standing. The crimes, if any were committed in Hawaii. I understand why the DoJ wants the case tried in Alexandria, but the Sixth Amendment is rather clear on this point. Snowden had legal and authorized access to the data, the basis of the alleged crime is sharing it with others, and he did that from Hawaii. As I have already said, the common law doesn't support a claim of theft. I would really like to see that Third Amendment case make it through to the Supreme Court. That opinion would certainly be 'interesting'. Steve, I would put the First Amendment on the front and on the back:

US Code Title 18 Section 242: Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

That would certainly provide some food for thought.

By: Steve Bates

Steve Bates — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 16:06:30 +0000

A couple of years ago I read of protesters somewhere in Texas who were about to be arrested but who were wearing shirts printed with the First Amendment on the back. You can get one from the ACLU, and probably from other sources of antiquated/expired documents. %-( Apparently some police were reminded of their schooling, and either did or didn’t arrest, but at least the reminder was planted. Other police seemed not to recognize the thing, and arrested just to be on the safe side. If I am ever healthy enough to return to my hardcore street protesting days, I’m going to get one of those shirts… if you’re provoking cops and liable to be arrested anyway, you may as well be “fashionably” dressed for the occasion. Maybe the judge at least will recognize it… maybe.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 07:00:16 +0000

Actually, if the crime crosses state lines and is thus a federal crime, under Federal venue rules venue could be one of three places:

1) The district court covering the area in which the accused resides (Hawaii), or
2) The district court covering the area in which the victim resides (Virginia), or
3) The location of the premises where the crime occurred (hmm, I guess the NSA’s data center in Maryland).

Prosecutors will typically choose venue based upon where they believe the best chances of conviction will be. Usually that’s the venue where the victim resides, since it’s typically thought that jurors will be more sympathetic to the victim if he is their neighbor. In this case, the victim “resides” in Alexandria Virginia, since that’s where Booz blahblah is headquartered.

Note that this is different from state venue rules which typically are simpler because it’s usual in that case for the accused, victim, and crime scene to all be located in the same county or court district, and if not, then the accused and victim don’t have to travel far to get to the crime scene so it makes sense to hold the trial there. The rule in New York State may very well be that the crime scene is where the trial will be held. But for Federal prosecutions, which by definition cross state lines, it’s not that simple and choice of venue becomes… interesting.

Now, if you *really* want an interesting violation of the Constitution… it’s not every day that you hear about cops violating the *THIRD* Amendment. WTF?