IP: More on LAPD and illegal wiretaps

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Fri, 01 Oct 1999 09:42:04 -0600
> To: politech () vorlon mit edu
> From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
>
>
> [I worked on Jerry Brown's presidental campaign in Santa Monica in 1992,
> which was not long after the Rodney King beating. I remember one popular
> t-shirt design in the campaign HQ then (I still have mine somewhere):
> "LAPD: We Treat You Like A King." --Declan]
>
> *********
>
> Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 18:23:16 -0700
> From: Lizard <lizard () dnai com>
> To: declan () well com, politech () vorlon mit edu
> Subject: Re: FC: Illegal LAPD wiretaps -- for shame! by John Gilmore
> :
> :
> :
>
> It is fairly obvious how the police, and their lapdog media allies,
> will play this:'We put thousands of violent criminals away, saving
> countless lives, and all the namby-pamby ACLU lawyers and their
> cyber-anarchist friends can do is whine and sob and cry about how this
> t wasn't crossed and that i wasn't dotted. Well, if they lived here on
> the mean streets of South Central instead in their New York Penthouse
> or Silicon Valley mansions, they'd be cheering every time we put some
> scumbag behind bars! They don't have to be the ones to tell a five
> year old girl Mommy was killed in a drug shootout, and the guy who did
> it was on the street because there was no 'evidence' to convict him!'
>
> I *guarantee* you will see not one, but several, stories/editorials
> along those lines in the near future.
>
> The reply to this line of 'reasoning' however, is very old and remains
> irrefutable to this day:Those who exchange essential liberty for
> temporary security shall have neither liberty nor security. B.
> Franklin.
>
> *********
>
> From: John_David_Galt () acm org
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> Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 18:20:50 -0700
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> To: gnu () toad com, declan () well com
>
> I think the root of this problem is that both individual cops, and their
> agencies, are immune to any legal action (civil or criminal) under the
> state constitution, even when they act in bad faith as they did here.
> And the same is true of public officials.
>
> Would anyone be interested in floating a ballot initiative to repeal
> that provision?  It would take a two-thirds vote, but I think there have
> been enough abuses that just maybe it could be done.
>
> I'm not suggesting that they be judged by the same standard as ordinary
> people using force.  (While that would be a nice ideal, I can't see it
> as possible anytime soon.)  The way I would write it, the only remedy a
> court could award would be injunctive relief, unless the jury found that
> the official knowingly misused or exceeded his authority (i.e. malice).
> But if there is malice, the official would get the same sentence as if
> you or I did the same thing, and would be barred from office for life.
>
> John David Galt
>
>
> *********
>
> Date: Fri, 01 Oct 1999 00:31:57 -0500
> To: declan () well com
> From: "Matthew G. Saroff" <msaroff () pobox com>
> Subject: Re: FC: Illegal LAPD wiretaps -- for shame! by John Gilmore
> In-Reply-To: <19991001000732.IRGZ7282 () alaptop hotwired com>
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>
> At 06:07 PM 9/30/99 -0600, you wrote:
>  >The LAPD's actions are reprehensible. The cops and prosecutors including
>  >Gil Garcetti who are involved should be -- if the facts are as they appear
>  >below -- tarred and feathered, or at least put in prison for the rest of
>  >their lives, far away from any position of public responsibility. It is
>  >wrong when any citizen violates the rights of another, but terribly,
>  >exponentially wrong when an official in a position of authority does it.
>  >For shame!
> Hi,
>       They should be put in prison for about 30 months.  Of course, this time
> should be served in a maximum security penitentiary among the people that
> they sent up.
> --
>   --Matthew Saroff
>
> *********
>
> Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 07:18:10 -0500 (CDT)
> From: Zippy <sjdyer () cs twsu edu>
> To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
> Subject: Re: FC: Illegal LAPD wiretaps -- for shame! by John Gilmore
> In-Reply-To: <19991001000732.IRGZ7282 () alaptop hotwired com>
> Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.991001071241.25659A-100000 () kira cs twsu edu>
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>
> Well--so much for the "reformed" LAPD, huh? While illegal wiretapping is a
> crime, there isn't much chance that any of them will see jail time, unless
> the political heat is too strong. The system protects its own.
>
> In an odd way, we can actually thank them--their continual reckless
> arrogance sheds light on abusive practices everywhere, in particular the
> longstanding practice of inventing drug crimes to seize assets.
>
>
> *********
>
> From: "William H. Geiger III" <whgiii () openpgp net>
> Date: Fri, 01 Oct 1999 10:11:12 -0500
> To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
> In-Reply-To: <19991001000732.IRGZ7282 () alaptop hotwired com>
> Cc: politech () vorlon mit edu
> Subject: Re: FC: Illegal LAPD wiretaps -- for shame! by John Gilmore
> X-Mailer: MR/2 Internet Cruiser Edition for OS/2 v1.66 b66
> X-UIDL: 99e056e5cae189c0edecec55147ba72e
>
> In <19991001000732.IRGZ7282 () alaptop hotwired com>, on 09/30/99
>    at 06:07 PM, Declan McCullagh <declan () well com> said:
>
>  >The LAPD's actions are reprehensible. The cops and prosecutors including
>  >Gil Garcetti who are involved should be -- if the facts are as they
>  >appear below -- tarred and feathered, or at least put in prison for the
>  >rest of their lives, far away from any position of public responsibility.
>  >It is wrong when any citizen violates the rights of another, but
>  >terribly, exponentially wrong when an official in a position of authority
>  >does it. For shame!
>
>
> Yes but the mass murderers Bill Clinton, Janet Reno, and Louis Freeh are
> all still in power, I see little hope that any of those guilty of crimes
> against the population of LA will ever be punished.
>
> ********
>
>
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