auto211076@hushmail.com wrote:
Fourth Day: Jim Bell Trial
[...]
London asked Gordon if he carried a gun. Gordon replied that he did. London: "Why are you afraid of this guy? You're carrying a gun and he isn't." "He's strongly advocated the assassination of IRS agents." Gordon also cited Bell's chemistry background, the fact that he went to MIT
Having been to MIT is evidence that someone is a threat? Knowing about science is reason to suspect someone of crime? All over the world geeks & nerds and stereotyped sad men in short-sleeved shirts with pens in their top pockets are trembling with glee. Hey, we're *dangerous* ! Someone takes us seriously! Federal agents are scared of us! All those long evenings of staying up late playing D&D and listening to "Bat out of Hell" and watching Arnie videos and finally someone realises that we are seriously scary! Hey, I was at the Durham University Botany department in the mid-1970s. *And* I'm doing a course in microbiology right now. Look on my lab reports ye mighty, and despair! Oh, and Mr. Agent, you wouldn't believe what I know about degenerating gradient gel electrophoresis that you don't. I've got an Eppendorf and I know how to use it! [...]
Leen told Tanner that all of Bell's discovery notes were at Seatac; that Seatac would not release the notes without a court order, and that the counsellor who would release the notes doesn't work on the weekend. Leen asked for an opportunity to recover the notes. Tanner refused.
Is this normal in US courts? Is it as biased and unfair as it sounds on the face of it? [...] Ken Brown