In Florida, Secrecy Around Stingray Leads To Plea Bargain For a Robber 246
schwit1 writes The case against Tadrae McKenzie looked like an easy win for prosecutors. He and two buddies robbed a small-time pot dealer of $130 worth of weed using BB guns. Under Florida law, that was robbery with a deadly weapon, with a sentence of at least four years in prison. But before trial, his defense team detected investigators' use of a secret surveillance tool, one that raises significant privacy concerns. In an unprecedented move, a state judge ordered the police to show the device — a cell-tower simulator sometimes called a StingRay — to the attorneys. Rather than show the equipment, the state offered McKenzie a plea bargain. Today, 20-year-old McKenzie is serving six months' probation after pleading guilty to a second-degree misdemeanor. He got, as one civil liberties advocate said, the deal of the century.
Guilty as charged (Score:2, Insightful)
so let me plea down and get out sooner to get back Jack and do it again.
About right (Score:5, Insightful)
6 months probation is about right for what he did anyway. I can't believe they're clogging prisons with petty criminals like this then turning violent criminals out because of over crowding. A BB gun as a deadly weapon? They're turning the legal system into a farce with that kind of bullshit.
Re:About right (Score:5, Insightful)
It makes much more sense to give first time offenders for stupid crimes like this a year of probation, a significant amount of community service, and forced enrollment in some sort of vocational school / work program.
You don't reform people by making them sit on their asses for four years talking to other criminals. You reform them by putting them to useful work.
Re:About right (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd just like to see the punishment fit the crime. 4 years for stealing 120 bucks worth of pot with a BB gun is fucking stupid. If he stole 50 grand worth of pot with an Uzi I guess he'd get lethal injection. Sheesh!
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If he were perhaps they wouldn't have had to show the other evidence to make the case.
Re: About right (Score:4, Insightful)
If he were perhaps they wouldn't have had to show the other evidence to make the case.
It would make sense the low-level criminal, in this case the marijuana seller, would be given some immunity in exchange for testifying against the armed robber. I'll not argue the merits or measures of prosecuting the robber, as I think most points of view have been covered, but I am pleased to see the defense attorney and judge do their jobs.
The police believe they are in a technological arms race with criminals, and sometimes behave as if the fate of the free World hinges upon every investigation. Realistically, they cannot be trusted to determine what is proper. Constitutionally, they are not allowed to.
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likely to turn them to harder, more violent crime/quot
Likely? I'm not a statistician, but I would be willing to be that such outcome has the highest probability out of all 'correctional' prison exercises.
The prison system is 'correcting' minor offenders to become crime.
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...crime. ...
Correction: 'to become proper crime professionals.'
Re:About right (Score:5, Insightful)
High recidivism is good for shareholders in privatized prisons. This is a system that profits more from harsher sentences and more prisoners, not fewer.
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So I don't it being relevant who runs the prison providing it abides by standards. What is more important is the political recognition that putting the time into ensuring people don't reoffend will pay off in the future.
I believe a far bigger issue is that the US has the most fucked
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So I don't it being relevant who runs the prison providing it abides by standards.
You mean the standards set by the politicians who are paid by the private prison lobby? That's the situation we have today.
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You'd think that privately run prisons are so pervasive in this country as to dominate the criminal justice (punishment) system.
Alas, fewer than 10% of the convicts in the USA are held in "private prisons"....
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Your numbers are out of date. Almost half of all Federal inmates are in private prisons, with the bulk being immigrant detainees. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/... [huffingtonpost.com] That was in 2012, and the percentage has only grown.
And if you happen to live in a state with a Republican governor and legislature, you will find it's also up to about half of inmates being in private prison systems. And those are mainly the ones most likely to be re
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Re:About right (Score:5, Insightful)
That's assuming that reform is the goal. That's a noble but probably naïve assumption.
Re:About right (Score:5, Insightful)
So armed robbery is a crime you feel just fine letting someone out with a slap on the wrist? This is a violent crime (threatened deadly force), not a victimless crime like smoking that pot. This kind of action that is unacceptable. You may not prey on other members of society. If you do you are going to be removed from society for a long time.
It is not important that he got only $120 in pot. He could have robbed someone that had nothing and gotten nothing, would that mean he did nothing wrong? It is not important that he only had a BB gun; He wanted the victim to think it was real and his life was under threat.
Violent crime must be punished and this guy did get one hell of a deal because the cops don't want to disclose their actions. Keep in mind that this man who committed a violent crime (allegedly) is still able to buy and own a real gun with this misdemeanor on his record. Kind of makes a mockery of the law doesn't it.
Re:About right (Score:4, Insightful)
What's the point of putting anyone in prison for weed ever? If the states would just get around to legalizing it completely, no more BB-gun crime in your area! Prisons would empty! Lawyers would starve! All of these are good things.
And one day we will. As my son points out, every year, lots of Old People (tm) die. At some point enough of them who learned about the evils of pot from William Randolph Hearst and Anslinger via vehicles like "Reefer Madness" will have died, and the simple fact that states that have legalized it de facto or de jure aren't imploding in an orgy of drug-fuelled crime will be persuasive even to those that think that it is not necessarily good for you to smoke pot. And on that day, every single person who lost their freedom, their health, their wealth, and their future not because of the chemical effects of pot but because we made it illegal and created a world where breaking any law, just or not, is dangerous will cry out to the sky:
Why?
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Are we really so ok with robbing people at gunpoint that we say this is not a big deal?
Obviously a BB gun is not as dangerous as a real pistol, but the reason he used it and not a more deadly knife is because many BB guns look real enough when you are being robbed and don't want to be shot.
Four years sounds fair to me.
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Most small time drug dealers are just feeding their own habbit and can't afford to buy enough at once to actually make more than they use themselves.
And either way, fuck you for thinking its ok to threaten someone with violence and rob them...for any fucking reason. There is no excuse, I don't give a shit what he was doing.
His "crime" doesn't even have a victim; theirs does.
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Well, there's the privatized prison industry to protect and the guy must have been a sniper. Where's NRA in all this? FTW.
Re:About right (Score:4, Insightful)
So you think if someone put a BB gun (which can still do some serious damage) to your head and took $130 from your wallet they should get no jail time?
I'm not saying 4 years in prison is appropriate, but something stronger than this minor slap on the wrist sure is...
Re:About right (Score:5, Interesting)
6 months probation for committing an armed robbery? That's nuts.
From the victim's perspective, he thought his life was in danger because it likely looked like a real gun. From the perpetrator's perspective it was a bluff, but the victim didn't know that. In most states the victim could have used deadly force to defend himself and easily gotten away with it. Even the best police department wouldn't have even blinked if an officer shot him with it. And it's not like it's impossible to seriously hurt someone with a BB gun.
Further, the perpetrator showed the willingness to use violence and the implied threat of death to accomplish a robbery. It's reasonable to assume this person is dangerous and a threat to society -- maybe next time he has a real gun, and the time after that he's willing to pull the trigger.
The fact that he stole pot doesn't matter. If this same guy had robbed your grandma's purse with a BB gun would it still seem like a 6 months of probation crime?
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But that is how the system is setup.
Re:About right (Score:4, Interesting)
1> I have no idea that the BB gun isn't a real gun.
2> Regardless of the criminal's words, I have no knowledge of their real intentions or capabilities beyond what they present to me.
3> I can't take their word that they only want my money, since they've already shown (by threatening my life) that they value life below property.
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And don't forget that 4) A BB Gun, while not as dangerous as a gun that shoots actual bullets, can still cause serious harm, especially at close range. If a thief points a BB gun at your head and demands all of your money (assuming you are unarmed or otherwise not in a position to fight back), it is a real threat. A shot to the head could, at best, seriously hurt you and, at worst, kill you.
Not really, learn your laws. (Score:4, Interesting)
6 months probation is about right for what he did anyway. I can't believe they're clogging prisons with petty criminals like this then turning violent criminals out because of over crowding. A BB gun as a deadly weapon? They're turning the legal system into a farce with that kind of bullshit.
Actually a BB gun can seriously injure someone. I was hit with a BB once (accidental) mind you, hitting me on my knuckle. That dig itself in bad. I do not want to think what it could do to an eye.
== the following below are generalizations of what the law says, counting variations across different jurisdictions within and outside the US ==
By law, a "deadly weapon" is not just a weapon that can kill for certain, but that has the potential to cause a serious injury that can lead to death. A BB to the eyeball at short range can do that. So can a rock being thrown to someone's face. In some jurisdictions around the world, a professional boxer's hands can be considered deadly weapons given that, unlike other people within their respective weight classes, professional boxes can kill someone with a punch to the temple.
The fact that using a BB gun has the potential to seriously injure someone makes its use a 3rd degree assault (potential to injury + recklessness). Use it to commit a crime and that shit by default ups it up to 2nd or even 1st degree depending of the circumstance.
Moreover, the law (as it should be) takes into consideration the state of mind of a potential victim. If the victim seriously thinks he is in physical danger, that is enough to bring a 3rd degree assault charge, even if the assault never takes place. This is more so if the person is put into a state of being scared of his well being or life while being subjected of a crime (then it goes to 2nd or 1st degree).
The person would have to know pretty well that the weapon is a BB gun and not a real gun. It is unreasonable to expect a person in a state of fright to recognize the two. If this were the case, one could argue I could attempt robbery with a fake gun (or a gun without rounds in it) and then claim in my defense that I did not use a deadly weapon. I hope I don't think I have to explain this one any further.
I disagree with you that 6 months probation was enough. This wasn't a harmless crime, and this person is a criminal.
I agree that we put petty criminals to jail too often. But armed robbery is not petty crime.
Breaking into a house when no one is there, and stealing a TV is. Cutting a bicycle chain to steal it, that is petty crime. Shoplifting is a petty crime. Selling bootlegged DVDs or dope is.
Armed robbery, subjecting a victim to a state of being afraid of his physical well being, that is not a petty crime.
What I'm really curious, and what I'm really afraid, and the real question of importance is: what the hell were the authorities so afraid to disclosed that they opted to drop charges and offer a plea. There is something absolutely wrong going on here if they have to cover that shit like that. That is the stuff we should we worried about.
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Taken to it's logical conclusion, this will eventually be the go-to plan for any defense attorney whose client was caught via cell phone tracking.
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The way the law is written is that a deadly weapon includes a firearm, or a facsimile of a firearm. So BB guns, toy guns, non-firing replicas, etc. are all considered "deadly weapons".
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6 months probation is about right for what he did anyway. I can't believe they're clogging prisons with petty criminals like this then turning violent criminals out because of over crowding. A BB gun as a deadly weapon? They're turning the legal system into a farce with that kind of bullshit.
Florida has some pretty generous laws with regard to carrying and using a firearm for defensive purposes. To help balance that out, the laws are very strict with regard to actually using a firearm in a threatening manner. Since a BB gun often looks similar to firearms to the lay person, they fall under the same penalties.
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Re:About right (Score:5, Funny)
You must be the guy they stole the pot from.
"People need to know — the public needs to k (Score:3)
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Re:About right (Score:5, Funny)
A level 5 Slippery Slope was detected in your message. It is very dangerous and could start flame wars.
Please retreat your argument before anyone gets hurt.
Sincerely yours,
AFD - Automatic Fallacy Detector
Re:About right (Score:5, Funny)
A level 3 Lack of Sense of Humor was detected in your message. It is very dangerous and could start flame wars and ultimately an gastric ulcer. Please consider reading comments with your sarcasm detector turned on to avoid further problems to your health.
Sincerelly yours,
ALHD - Automatic Lack of Humor Detector
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A level 2 Potential Lack of Mememetic Acknowledgement has been detected. Lack of attribution is very dangerous and could start a copyright infringement war and ultimately involve the use of lawyers. Please consider reading comments with your IP (Intellectual Property) detector engaged to avoid further chance of litigation.
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Re: About right (Score:5, Insightful)
Assume a criminal has either the choice of a BB gun or a regular gun to commit a crime with.
In scenario A, the BB gun is considered a lesser offense than robbing someone with a regular firearm.
In scenario B, the BB gun is considered the same as robbing someone with a regular gun.
Under which scenario do you assume that more people are held up with weapons that are actually capable of killing them? In which scenario are more crime victims shot?
Being tough on crime sounds good, but it can have unintended consequences.
Re: About right (Score:5, Insightful)
You are over-thinking it here.
Threatening someone with a gun-shaped object should carry the same sentence regardless of whether it turned out to be a real gun or not.
Actually shooting someone with a gun should carry an even higher penalty. If you use a fake gun, you obviously don't get to shoot anyone with it, so you will naturally not be charged for shooting anyone, but you don't get to benefit from the fact that you misled your victims as to the ultimate level of violence you were able to commit.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
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If the Nerf or Airsoft gun plausibly look like a gun, the effect on the victim is the same (unless you actually shoot, that is). It makes sense but unfortunately some prosecutors stretch it past the limits.
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Oddly enough, no. The darts don't weigh enough to drive the tip in. Add weight to fix that and then the launcher won't have enough power to launch the dart.
Re: About right (Score:5, Interesting)
Lol..
Suppose someone robbed you with a .45 but they claimed it was just a BB gun when caught. Does that make you a fool for belirving the BB gun could kill you when you went to the ATM and withdrew the max your accout allows to stop this guy from killing you?
The problem is not if the weapon could cause harm but if you believed it would and thereby was forced to act in ways you wouldn't to protect your life.
Re: About right (Score:4)
You possibly could even if it is unlikely. That is why the use of weapons increases penalties and the use of some weapons are considered more agressive and carry stiffer penalties.
Re: About right (Score:5, Insightful)
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I agree with this. For most of criminal law, we judge based upon the INTENT of the DEFENDANT. The state of mind of the aggrieved party should be irrelevant unless the attacker knows it and that goes along with intent and premeditation.
"If I'm terrorized -- you must be a terrorist" is no way to run a civilization. A cynical person might believe that was the intent of the "stand your ground laws" and other shenanigans when large corporate groups like ALEC lobbied for them. What's wrong with self defense laws?
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You dont understand the crime. The VICTIM determines, by thier natural reaction, what the crime is. If i BELIEVE that you are threatening me with a weapon, it doenst matter what it turns out to be. The fear it induced is the basis of the crime, not the actual item.
No. The test is usually what "a reasonable person" would have thought, not what "The VICTIM" thought. There are lots of unreasonable people in the world who are crazy and would be fearful if someone tried to shake their hand in greeting. This also defeats the problem of victims who thought one thing at the time of the incident then later changed how they thought of the incident. Rather than debate what Joe was thinking about (impossible to argue/debate) we can make arguments on what a "reasonable person
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There really has to be some sanity here: the weapon must be able to cause grievous bodily harm in order to justify heavy sentences. A BB gun doesn't qualify unless a butter knife, Bic pen, and flexible drinking straw count as well.
Stab someone with a butter knife or Bic pen, and you'd still be charged with the same "assault with a deadly weapon".
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Our government is EXPLICITLY forbidden from doing so.
Is the government also explicitly forbidden from permitting itself to do things differently in the future?
Its a fundamentally part of our law.
I'm not sure how fundamental it can really be considered to be, given that it's an ammendment to something else.
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I recommend you do something rather unreasonable. That thing is to learn about what you're talking about. You say the constitution didn't have that right, but someone amended it. If you're familiar with the bill of rights, you'd be aware that the constitution has never existed as law, without it. So yes, technically you're right that it's an amendment, but the constitution has never been without that right.
And now, since I know you can't be bothered, here's the amendment process. Congress must draft a
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mmm
Hi. I'm in the UK and I don't think this is actually true. Also, I'm not the only one to think that way. The Guardian, The BBC and The Office for National Statistics all think violent crime is lower than ever:
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Same is true in the US.
Take a look at Kennesaw, GA mandating guns, and Morton Grove, IL banning guns. Kennesaw sees violent crimes and crime in general go down, Morton Grove sees an uptick. Preventing Citizens from owning guns when criminals own guns is the problem.
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This isn't a gun issue - it was a BB gun, which is a half step up from airsoft. Not sure who the "us" in "do it like us" is, but in the end it's a robbery issue, not a gun issue. Armed robbery with a knife would be much more dangerous.
The danger comes from your victim possibly being armed himself and, fearing being shot, initiating a shootout himself. That would be a lot more dangerous than using a knife since anyone involved could potentially die, not to mention neighbors, bystanders, etc.
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The overwhelming majority of them are stolen from mostly law-abiding, legal gun owners.
Indeed, a major firearms contributor to the Cartel war in Mexico are weapons stolen from the Mexican government, a mostly law-abiding, legal gun owner.
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In the U.S., putting someone in prison is an opportunity for a corporation to make easy profit. The prices are very high and the customers (prisoners) can be abused.
For a moment I thought you were describing an Apple store.
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Tell me about the Lizard Men again!
Sorry, you don't have adequate security clearance.
Justice just doesn't work (Score:2, Interesting)
Plea bargaining should be illegal as a circumvention of the judicial system.
Re:Justice just doesn't work (Score:4, Insightful)
This. There should not be an incentive for pleading guilty. One should never have their freedom taken away merely for inconveniencing the system.
And, if they were so keen not to reveal their kit, couldn't he have refused to bargain all the way, waiting for the judge to insist at each stage that this equipment be exposed? Or is the judicial system too broken to throw out a case where a prosecutor has deliberately changed the charge because it refuses to follow the judge's instructions on the initial charge?
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Re:Justice just doesn't work (Score:4, Insightful)
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It far more frequently circumvents the system in the other direction. Innocent people who cannot afford the legal fees, etc., of a trial plead guilty to crimes more serious than any they are guilty of.
Call your congressman (Score:5, Insightful)
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Your congressman doesn't want to hear from you, unless you're a campaign contributor, Law doesn't matter. Elections matter.
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Maybe there is space in the political spectrum for a political party that:
- Doesn't accept large donations from individuals in return for an inordinate influence (i.e. one greater than their vote share)
- Doesn't accept corporate donations (large or small)
- Has strict limits on the amount of contributions from non-corporates (small enough as to not effectively buy influence in the party)
- Does not endorse or approve or affiliate with any superPACs.
- Does not allow cand
Re:Call your congressman (Score:5, Interesting)
Perhaps, but you have to break through the two party system first.
No, what you need to do is realize that when the Founding Fathers stated that there should be no less than 1 member per 30,000 people, there really should be no less than 1 per 30,000.
Sure the logistics are tough, but guess what? Plenty of problems get solved.
First - we don't need all 10,000 people to attend in person - it's just not possible. And since they're supposed to represent their local jurisdiction, they should do just that. Votes and everything can be done through telepresence. We certainly have the technology to manage 10,000 members easily enough. Hell, let's have them work from home - saves the need to pay for office space.
Second - we're not going to pay 10,000 members the outrageous salaries they currently get. No, we want them to be representative of their area - so we pay them based on the mean/median/mode of the earnings in their area. They work from home anyways, and their earnings reflect the region they're in. if it results in barely a living wage, well, extra incentive to bring up employment and earnings in their region, no?
Third, bribing 5001 people spread out geographically is a lot tougher. I mean, a billion dollar campaign contribution spread out over 5001 people is just under $200k each. Or $6.66 per person in their area. This means local funding is a lot easier to accomplish - if you have 10,000 people, and can get them to contribute an average of $50 each towards your cause, then that can easily override that $200K industry contribution.
And better yet, all you need is to get the courts to enforce it.
Using the existing rules to your advantage is the best way to enact change.
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it was about 80 comments until someone brought up the surveillance tool. And Yes, writing to your congressman is very smart, While most people think it's a waste of time, writing to them shows that people care about the actions.
Deal of the century? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd still rather take the deal bankers got when they effectively stole billions and we gave them more money.
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This.
The real criminals in this society are not criminals according to the law, they are never prosecuted in any court, much less put behind bars.
We thought when communism broke apart, that capitalism had won. We were wrong. Capitalism died a few years later, just less visible and more gradual, as it has been increasingly replaced by a kleptocracy.
Re: Deal of the century? (Score:5, Interesting)
This all hinges on what "that money" is.
Sure, they repaid with interest "that money" which was their bailout, fronted by taxpayers when nobody else could loan cash.
But if "that money" refers to all the losses they caused to investors, losses to businesses incurring cash flow problems they wouldn't have had, losses to individuals whose homes dropped in value and were foreclosed, and the huge amount of financial loss and pain felt by pretty everyone else who works for a wage, especially people paid off work, I'm pretty sure those bankers never repaid any of "that money".
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Well, as they say, "Past Performance is Not Necessarily Indicative of Future Results". When you decide that sharks are what you're going to swim with, you don't get much choice in the bites that go along with them.
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I'm going to reply to your post, which has been modded up by some of the real idiots of
So law protects me even when on illegal activities (Score:2, Insightful)
So when I buy low quality weed can I demand a refund now? Where are we? The robbed dude was a criminal, and he shouldn't have got any protection by the law. Illegal goods can't be robbed -- they are illegal.
Re: So law protects me even when on illegal activi (Score:5, Interesting)
Congratulations, you just reinvented the concept of "outlaw". The original idea was that law protected the law abiding. Those who broke the law had the aegis of the law removed and thus anyone could harm the outlaw in any way without legal repercussion.
Interestingly, originally courts required that defendants recognize their authority before the court could try them. Defendants who refused to do so were subjected to various coercions. The coercive method of choice was "pressing".
Here's one bad mother fucker who refused to submit to the state... read his last words: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_Corey
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Myself and a friend came up with a solution slightly similar to outlaws - human rights points. When you are convicted of a crime a number of human (or constitutional) rights points are removed from (proportional to the crime) for a period. The criminal is required to decide which human rights they has to give up, and is therefore directly responsible for their sentence. Note that just because you've lost points, doesn't mean that people are free to attack your with repercussions.
A rapist might, for example,
Re:So law protects me even when on illegal activit (Score:5, Informative)
Actually - you can.
Sticking a gun to somebody's head and demanding things from him is robbery. If the things happen to be illegal that's a seperate crime of which he is guilty, but it doesn't make YOUR crime okay.
That logic is a recipe for rampant vigilantism. Sure I shot twenty people down in the past year your honour, but they were all criminals, teenagers smoking doobies !
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I know, right. Next they'll want to prosecute me for all the jay-walkers I've been mowing down.
Civil vs. Criminal law (Score:2)
Robbery is still criminal.
For civil stuff, you can't come before the court with "unclean hands". I.e., if you were breaking the law when the offence occurred, the court won't hear the case.
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It's true, but subtle and depends on the jurisdiction.
I should add all the qualifiers, IANAL, I don't play one on TV, blah blah. This is Law 101 stuff.
http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/breach-of-contract-defenses-unclean-hands.html [legalmatch.com]
Suing somebody for selling you bad weed should be thrown out because you're committing a crime in buying it.
Why wrongful death could be tried by the family of a burglar against somebody who set up lethal traps in a house....... I have no idea. There's probab
Why is the government scared to talk about these? (Score:3)
Why is the federal government (and its agencies) so scared to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to reveal the use of these devices?
Re:Why is the government scared to talk about thes (Score:5, Insightful)
Because the uses are highly illegal, nearly certain to intercept the calls of law abiding citizens, and absolute proof that they intend to become big brother as soon as they can.
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Because the uses are highly illegal
"Highly," huh. Tell me: how much trouble, exactly, would the cops be in if they got caught using this device? :p
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None, but that's because corrupt courts have exempted them from the law. It's the Citizens they fear in this.
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I don't think they're fully there yet but they're trying as hard as they can and that is in itself damning.
Re:Why is the government scared to talk about thes (Score:5, Insightful)
fucking bitch prosecutors (Score:2, Insightful)
also fucking bitch stupid defendant.
he just fucking caved, his defense team could have got to see this device and perhaps document it's abuse in the court of law..
the plea bargain has allowed their crooked shit to slip by for yet another case, they avoided exposure..
obamasweapon.com [obamasweapon.com]
Now we know who is the bigger crook (Score:5, Interesting)
He's a petty thief The police are violating the constitution, and completely ignoring the rule of law. For all intents and purposes the cops are the judge, jury and executioner, with a badge and gun.
The police were able to avoid a trial, which is one of the major ways that the legal system has been subverted. The penalties are so draconian that even innocent people plead guilty, because if they don't they will be held forever.
Here's a current example from Montana [boingboing.net].
That's right. Life in jail for showing fake nipples three times. Of course they backed off on it, but the fact that this was even considered shows how corrupt the law has become.
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Here's a current example from Montana [boingboing.net].
That's right. Life in jail for showing fake nipples three times. Of course they backed off on it, but the fact that this was even considered shows how corrupt the law has become.
A few points:
The markup made the 3rd offense only punishable by up to 5 years in jail, along with a fine; thus saving some poor criminal the ignominy of, when asked by other lifers what they're in for, saying "wearing spandex in public three times..."
The sponsor seemed to be more upset over people wearing spandex and speedos, and stated that wearing beige spandex could be considered public indecency. He was upset over some bikers who rode nude through his town and this was his response.
The bill was tabled b
In other news ... (Score:5, Interesting)
In other legal news from the great State of Florida, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has been caught recording defendants' privileged conversations with their attorneys, and, on occasion, providing said recordings to prosecutors.
Hey, other countries get along fine without civil rights. Who needs 'em, amirite?
http://www.winknews.com/2015/0... [winknews.com]
This may be the tip of ... (Score:4, Interesting)
Because they are unwilling to disclose the use of these devices it is possible that
a very long list of prosecutions will be undone including this plea should the information
see the light of day.
There is some reason to believe that a court order to demand the police retain all records could be justified.
It is not clear if the records can be released but this and other actions with these tools implies the legal footing
is not clear and that the tool is astoundingly broad and effective in what it gathers.
I might note here that it has been recently disclosed that the keys to SIM card codes
have apparently been stolen by one or more TLA. http://www.ign.com/articles/20... [ign.com]
One article gave a four year window to this key theft perhaps more.
If these devices are sold and if these stolen keys are involved it gets interesting.
No New Law From That (Score:4, Insightful)
Hopefully the guy's learned his lesson. Pulling a BB gun on a drug dealer seems like a pretty good way of getting yourself killed.
Re: (Score:2)
It comes down to whether or not the Stingray evidence was the only thing against him... if everything hinged on that evidence being admitted, then he'd be smart to push it to the end. However, if there was anything completely outside the Stingray evidence, the plea bargain is the smart choice.
I completely understand him taking it, but I sure wish he would have pressed it. If it had been pushed earlier, I'd have suggested starting a GoFundMe or something for the guy to fight it and force the prosecution to
CONTEMPT of Court (Score:3)
Congrats to the defense team for spotting this hole in the prosecution. Public defenders are not as bad as the media portray.
I'm not sure why the cop tech was not hit with fines & jail for contempt of court. No private agreement (even with FBI) trumps civil let alone criminal discovery. The DA probably settled to avoid the FBI repo'ing the Stingray (it was likely on loan).