Re. "Scienter" and all that stuff. Not being handicapped by a legal education, let me tell you how I believe it really is: The facts and the law only matter when the government doesn't have a hard on for you. If the government wants to get you [and, perhaps, if you're not a millionaire "sports figure"] it will get you. The crime bill just makes the task a bit easier. Example 1: Branch Davidians were sentenced to long prison terms for possessing weapons during commission of a crime, even though they were acquitted of the crime they were accused of committing while being in possession of the weapons. Example 2: The jury brought in the "wrong" verdict for the L.A. cops who beat Rodney King, so the feds just stepped in and tried 'em again. The constitutional prohibition against trying people twice for the same crime didn't bother the feds a bit. I know, I know, they were convicted of "violating the civil rights of". What's the difference? Pardon me for my lack of respect for the system. It went out the window when a bunch of drug cops broke into my 71 year old father's apartment by mistake and beat him unconscious for objecting. Outside of F. Lee Bailey's circle, cops and courts can basically do what they want, ignore your protests, and *get away with it*. The only difference between a "crip" and a cop is the color of the uniform.