On Sun, 15 Oct 1995, Timothy C. May wrote:
At 2:13 AM 10/16/95, Futplex wrote:
I would very much like to see this law tested. I think it could prove fairly important to attack it with a well-planned, benign test case rather than wait for the next National Liberation spam or a death threat.
I don't live in PA, but I would be willing to participate as the defendant in a test case under the right circumstances. Presumably I would open an account with an ISP in Penna., set up a remailer on the account (need to find an ISP that clearly allows that), and have somebody send a message through it.
We would need to design a promising test case and find an attorney willing & able to offer pro bono services.
I'm not a lawyer, though I hang out on the "Cyberia" list and I watched a lot of the OJ trial. :-}
Seriously, it is hard to "design a promising test case" in this way. They--the Pennsylvania law enforcement authorities--don't have to take the bait. They can just do nothing, until an incident arises which provokes them. Maybe next year, maybe five years from now. Such an incident is likely to be one that they figure will make for a popular prosecution. One of the Four Horseman, probably.
I must've missed that day from the O.J. trial. You are, of course, correct that you can't force the state to prosecute you. You might try the following, however, depending on Pennsylvania law (where I am not admitted, this isn't legal advice, you aren't my client, and all that other crap ...): Let's say someone decided to set up a commercial remailing service and had an aunt with an empty bedroom, phone lines, and a powerful computer which she only used to save her recipes. She happens to live in Pennsylvania, near an ISP that allows remailers ... She offers to help. You obtain the service of Pennsylvania counsel to advise you on the legal aspects of your proposed service. The lawyer refers you to the new statute and says it may be a problem. Your proposal's success or failure rides on the interpretation of the statute. So you instruct your lawyer to review the possibility of filing a civil suit for declaratory relief concerning the constitutionality of the statute and the interpretation of the statute. Your civil complaint frames the terms of the (public) debate and is the subject of any initial press coverage before the Pa. Attorney General has even heard of the suit....
--Tim May
Views here are not the views of my Internet Service Provider or Government. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^756839 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."
Not a lawyer on the Net, although I play one in real life. ********************************************************** Flame away! I get treated worse in person every day!!