51–60 of 251 posts
To the people suggesting pinning the blame on a person is ignoring the systemic issues, let me point out this: you can do both. We can both recognize that the system is broken while still recognizing that we need to make it plainly obvious how disappointed we are in the people running it. Making a petition isn't a lynch mob. These people are public servants, and ostensibly serve at the pleasure of the public. So when…
Some more context about the prosecutor: She was named "Bostonian of the Year" for her successful cases against mob bosses and drug companies: http://www.mainjustice.com/2012/01/03/massachusetts-u-s-atto... Out of the 94 U.S. DA offices, her office alone collected ~67% of the total criminal and civil fines in 2012, mostly owing to the successful prosecution of drug companies. Her success led to speculation that she wo…
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Maybe we should be replacing prosecutors who remain technologically ignorant years after these issues come up. If her job responsibilities include prosecuting computer crime, she needs to understand the applicability of computers to crime, otherwise she's not doing her job. Being old and an appointed official is no excuse anymore. It's not as if she's a holdover from the Reagan years. She was an early appointment by…
I'm not disagreeing here, simple asking for information: how has she demonstrated an ignorance of technology?
The 9th Circuit (the best circuit!) ruled this was bullshit in US vs. Nosal.
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I'm not disagreeing here, simple asking for information: how has she demonstrated an ignorance of technology?
Prosecuting downloading information in violation of terms of service as an abuse under CFAA. The 9th Circuit (the best circuit!) ruled this was bullshit in US vs. Nosal.
Ok, so you win, she gets fired. Another will simply replace her. You need to get the laws sorted out.
Get the laws changed. Or get laws to protect people. Do it in his name. I cant think of a better legacy. (Well, unless I am completely and utterly wrong about how US law stuff works. In which case, I hold up my ignorant hands)
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I'm not disagreeing here, simple asking for information: how has she demonstrated an ignorance of technology?
Prosecuting downloading information in violation of terms of service as an abuse under CFAA. The 9th Circuit (the best circuit!) ruled this was bullshit in US vs. Nosal.
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Unfortunately this conflicts with the reality of Federal law in the US, where prosecutorial discretion is essentially the beginning and end of the criminal law system. At any given time, any person and any company could be easily convicted of enough serious crimes to put them in prison for life or out of business. Prosecutors don't pick cases; they pick defendants, based on what are hopefully well-intended criteria.…
Only a person of science or other black/white thinker would assume that law and procedure was an "essentially mechanical process." I once imagined it that way too. The very first thing a law student is taught is that everything is a grey area: laws are left vague deliberately in order to be interpreted by judges; evidence and procedure are negotiable; everything is subjective. The legal framework is only that, a fram…
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My Grandfather, who was the US Attorney for west Memphis, once explained that prosecuting the law was messy. It was messy because there was rarely a case which hinged on exactly one part of the law or that had circumstances that nicely isolated the principle at stake. He was talking about pornography, and the difficulty of a general consensus that pornography was "bad" and should be outlawed, with the challenge of de…
Ending her career would set a very clear precedent that other prosecutors would have no difficulty understanding. N'est pas?
If you look at Carmen's career you will find that she has actually done a lot of good, in getting bad folks put behind bars. She, or her staff, blew it on this one. I wish I knew why. I doubt we'll get the actual story there.
So to what end would ending her career advance Aaron's goal of getting copyright on public records overturned? Making people "afraid" to prosecute it is the wrong answer, making it "not a crime" is the answer. There are only two ways to do that, one is to repeal the statute that makes it a crime in the first place, the second is to litigate the statute and find that the statute is invalid.
Firing Carmen doesn't help, although I completely understand the emotional appeal of doing so.
[1] I know that would not have happened it is illustrative.
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How about both? The cog is broken, as is the greater machine. Let's fix both. Is the ball already rolling on a petition to have these particular laws changed?
You can't petition the White House to change laws...
This person made errors in judgement. Maybe they came from her poor understanding of technology, maybe not. But what's clear is that the petition author has equally limited understanding of legal matters. Don't do what she did. Be the better person.
Go about this the proper way. If you truly feel that she did something wrong, then consult with a lawyer and decide what can be done. Maybe legal action can be taken to have her sanctioned. Maybe she can be educated. I don't know. And neither do you. So instead of -- essentially -- calling for her to be hanged, go about this the proper way.