Has anyone talked to Jim to find out what he wants? I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to represent himself without the assistance/interference of an attorney. (I think that'd be a big mistake, but he's an adult and should be allowed to make his own choices.) Is he currently represented by a court-appointed attorney? Are they working out of the federal public defender's office, or are they in private practice? I'm not familiar with the Tacoma federal PD's office (nor am I sure that one exists) but the federal public defenders in Oregon typically did a pretty good job for their clients, frequently better than that available from the cheaper/less experienced end of the spectrum in the private bar. A court-appointed attorney may also be more familiar with/comfortable with clients who want to take an active part in their defense. (Sometimes, defendants will choose to represent themseves, but with the aid of an attorney to help them understand courtroom protocol/procedure, and to give help/advice with the trickier issues.) It's also possible that organizing only a small defense fund will turn out to be worse than no defense fund, if it eliminates his eligibility for an appointed attorney but fails to generate enough money to attract a good private attorney. If the government really wants to screw him, forcing him to represent himself or be represented by someone inexperienced or uninterested or underfunded seems like a good way to do that. My hunch is that an attorney from the private bar will want somewhere between $15K and $30K to take this to trial, could be higher. Someone who asks for a lot less probably doesn't intend to do very much work, unless they're doing it on a pro bono basis. If people are serious about this, I suggest getting in touch with Jim or his family to see if it's actually helpful/useful, and setting it up such that any money raised goes directly to the attorney, not to Jim or his family. (not because I don't think they're trustworthy, but because gaining extra cash/assets may make him ineligible for a court-appointed attorney - but if the cash/assets aren't available to him because they're being held by some unconnected cypherpunk, it'd be much harder/impossible to deny him appointed counsel.) Also, given Jim's tax status, it's possible that the IRS will try to seize/levy against any funds that come into Jim's control, which would turn the "defense fund" into the "pay Jim's taxes fund". -- Greg Broiles | US crypto export control policy in a nutshell: gbroiles@netbox.com | http://www.io.com/~gbroiles | Export jobs, not crypto. |