At 10:29 PM 4/4/01 +0200, Anonymous wrote:
In light of recent "situations" involving cpunks and the courts, I've been thinking about the 5th Amendment.
I pose two questions:
If called to testify in a criminal case, and asked the question "Are you known by any other names" (or a derivative of that question), could one
plead the fifth in order to prevent the disclosure of a pseudonym?
Yes, see below.
If asked the question "have you ever communicated with [third party]", could one plead the fifth if that communication was made through a pseudonym, and tying that pseudonym to oneself could potentially be incriminating?
Sure sounds possible, ergo plead-able. The 5th is up to you to decide ---after all, only you know what you've done or might be linked to. You can only be forced to talk to a GJ if given immunity for anything you say, by arrangement beforehand; I think this came up during Monicagate. (BTW, watch for your violations of State law when immunized only against Fed charges..) JY or DM could easily take the 5th if they so chose. Instead, every word they choose may be misconstrued; they have no idea of the context the persecutor [sic] has set up. How would anyone (including themselves or their council) prove to the subpeona'd that any answer associating them with JB would not be incriminating in the next wave? Look at how JY "sent" JB out to "stalk" the CIA spook. I would take some time (an hour) to consider any answers I chose to give them, and I would write it down first. Answers that I chose to give would be as short as possible; "journalism" suffices to motivate cryptome. As well as DM's articles. GJ folks should also leave the room and have a cup of coffee with their attorney after each question has been posed, so that the court audience enjoys the same wasted time as the speakers. You don't have to speak to LE (including on the street), but if you do, lying is a crime (though they can lie to you); best to say nil. When you come back into the courtroom, see if you can time a fart as you go past the bench. ........ "Give a man a mask, and he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde